Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Boosts Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,874 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $32,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the third quarter worth $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 101.5% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $79,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total transaction of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,490 shares of company stock worth $1,541,570. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $288.08 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.34 and a 52-week high of $296.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The firm has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.94, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $281.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $275.11.

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

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRSK shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.11.

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.