Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 90.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,554 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $12,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $50,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 101.5% in 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 period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.5 %

Verisk Analytics stock opened at $277.98 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.34 and a 1 year high of $296.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $281.69 and its 200-day moving average is $274.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $39.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.37, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.19 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,490 shares of company stock worth $1,541,570. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.