Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,966,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 671,606 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 3.49% of Verisk Analytics worth $1,338,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $268.79 on Monday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.32 and a 1-year high of $287.13. The company has a market capitalization of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.15, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $271.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.