Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Holdings Lifted by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 8.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,183 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 233.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,666 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 57.9% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 16.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 63,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 6.6 %

VRSK opened at $284.99 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.34 and a twelve month high of $306.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.26. The firm has a market cap of $39.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $735.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total value of $348,229.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.