KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,767 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $9,622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.33, for a total value of $54,266.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,808 shares in the company, valued at $4,289,184.64. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $280.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $291.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $271.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on VRSK. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $285.80.

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.