Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 622 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 128 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $374,530,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 90.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,141,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,663,000 after purchasing an additional 542,432 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,342,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,722,000 after purchasing an additional 422,002 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 178.5% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 319,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $76,278,000 after purchasing an additional 204,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,407,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,919,008,000 after purchasing an additional 170,620 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.8 %

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $269.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $215.32 and a one year high of $287.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.36 billion, a PE ratio of 50.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $271.83 and its 200 day moving average is $253.76.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRSK. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.54.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total value of $52,462.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Verisk Analytics

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.