MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,040 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $9,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth $1,325,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 4.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,432 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. PGGM Investments boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 33,497 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,029,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $427,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total transaction of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.71, for a total transaction of $280,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 53,163 shares in the company, valued at $14,923,385.73. The trade was a 1.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,400 shares of company stock valued at $678,764. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK opened at $286.68 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $278.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.34 and a 1 year high of $296.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.87.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. The business had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.80.

Verisk Analytics 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.