Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Holdings Increased by Ground Swell Capital LLC

Ground Swell Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 80.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics comprises approximately 0.5% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ground Swell Capital LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 225.5% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 205,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,993,000 after purchasing an additional 142,088 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 8,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $698,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,407,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,919,008,000 after buying an additional 170,620 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRSK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.54.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK opened at $273.60 on Wednesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $271.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Verisk Analytics news, 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 transaction of $55,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 726 shares of company stock worth $196,682. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.