Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Position Boosted by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $12,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 101.5% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $293.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $281.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.61. The company has a market cap of $41.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.89. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $217.34 and a 12-month high of $296.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total value of $286,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,163 shares in the company, valued at $15,517,157.87. This represents a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,570. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.11.

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.