Axa S.A. Sells 7,166 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Axa S.A. decreased its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 2.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 320,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,166 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $86,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $265.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $270.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.86. 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 52 week low of $215.32 and a 52 week high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRSK shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.