Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Trading Down 4.6% Following Insider Selling

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Free Report)’s share price traded down 4.6% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $235.74 and last traded at $235.84. 830,255 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 1,003,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.23.Specifically, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.02, for a total value of $372,966.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,931 shares in the company, valued at $10,807,904.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, October 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $267.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.57.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 4.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.22, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.73.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $677.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.33 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 19.04% and a return on equity of 135.34%. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Verisk Analytics by 767.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 75,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,047,000 after acquiring an additional 66,724 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 11.7% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 178.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.4% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,445,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $326,653,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449 shares during the period. 90.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Verisk Analytics (Get Free Report)

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, and various other fields.

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