Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) PT Raised to $241.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $238.00 to $241.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI reiterated an in-line rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $237.33 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $231.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.95. Verisk Analytics has a fifty-two week low of $205.70 and a fifty-two week high of $251.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The stock has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.79.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.07 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 268.19% and a net margin of 28.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total transaction of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,407.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,348.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

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.