Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) EVP Kathy Card Beckles sold 107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.95, for a total transaction of $19,468.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,462 shares in the company, valued at $1,357,710.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Verisk Analytics Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $181.61. The company had a trading volume of 832,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 701,745. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.05 and a twelve month high of $222.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 34.12% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The firm had revenue of $745.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $757.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.
Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 15th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 14th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 19.25%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 34.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3.2% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 22,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,906,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth approximately $636,000. National Pension Service grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 0.6% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 195,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,966,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 14.4% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 9,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 1,232 shares during the period. 89.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have issued reports on VRSK. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $184.00 to $173.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $227.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 24th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $215.00 to $185.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.36.
About Verisk Analytics
Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, commercial banking and finance, and various other fields.