Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Purchased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 9,061.6% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 26,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,390,000 after buying an additional 26,460 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $247,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 115.2% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $266.54. 68,388 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 838,204. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $270.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $250.04. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.32 and a fifty-two week high of $287.13. The firm has a market cap of $37.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.56, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 29.10%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.54.

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.