Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK Stock Holdings Lessened by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,205,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 127,808 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $303,203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total transaction of $65,862.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This trade represents a 2.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher John Perry purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $538,920. This represents a 50.15% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 price objective on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.20.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $198.04 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.60 and a 12-month high of $322.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.49.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 357.00% and a net margin of 29.56%.The firm had revenue of $778.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $773.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.73%.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.