Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $287.21 and last traded at $286.53, with a volume of 189969 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $280.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRSK. Barclays upped their target price on 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 set a $279.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.80.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.70, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $269.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.33, for a total transaction of $54,266.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,289,184.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at $1,325,000. OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2,181.7% in the second quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 2,875 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth about $2,340,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 183,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,198,000 after purchasing an additional 24,977 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 25.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Verisk Analytics

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.