BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $46.67 Million Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 36.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,276 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.14% of Verisk Analytics worth $46,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,195,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $282,418,000 after buying an additional 211,032 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 54,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,889,000 after buying an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK traded up $1.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $274.45. The stock had a trading volume of 592,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,166. The firm has a market cap of $39.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.84. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.32 and a 12 month high of $275.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.29.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.07 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is 29.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total value of $376,057.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,066,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $13,066,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,265 shares of company stock worth $774,953 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.08.

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.