GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 732 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the first quarter valued at $40,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ:VRSK traded up $5.29 on Friday, hitting $266.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,232,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 781,334. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 49.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.84. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.32 and a 52 week high of $287.13. The business’s fifty day moving average is $268.95 and its 200 day moving average is $249.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The business had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $267.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,066,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,066,200. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,237 shares of company stock valued at $572,739 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.