Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Hits New 52-Week High at $253.14

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $253.14 and last traded at $253.14, with a volume of 80653 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $251.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.9 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.79.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $704.00 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

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

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,510,461.86. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares in the company, valued at $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,304 shares of company stock valued at $2,648,390 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter worth about $28,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.