Vinva Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK - Free Report) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,671 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company's stock.
In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. This trade represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total transaction of $321,642.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,958.66. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047 in the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Shares of VRSK stock opened at $289.74 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $40.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $288.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.58. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.34 and a 52 week high of $306.10.
Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. On average, analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.87%.
A number of brokerages have commented on VRSK. Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $299.33.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on 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.
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