Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Position Lessened by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 330,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 32,231 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.23% of Verisk Analytics worth $89,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 346,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $82,800,000 after acquiring an additional 34,077 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 225.5% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 205,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,993,000 after acquiring an additional 142,088 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 8,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $698,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $266.63 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $270.84 and its 200-day moving average is $250.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.04 billion, a PE ratio of 49.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.54.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics and technology solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. It offers policy language, prospective loss costs, policy writing and rating rules, and various underwriting solutions for risk selection and segmentation, pricing, and workflow optimization; property- and auto- specific rating and underwriting information solutions that allows clients to understand, quantify, underwrite, mitigate, and avoid potential loss for risks; catastrophe modeling solutions, which enables companies to identify, quantify, and plan for the financial consequences of catastrophes for use by insurers, reinsurers, intermediaries, financial institutions, and governments.