State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) by 18.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,828 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $4,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 132.8% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 156 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 1,324.0% during the first quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 356 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Verisk Analytics from $227.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Verisk Analytics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.18.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 35.21% and a net margin of 34.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Verisk Analytics's payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, EVP Kathy Card Beckles sold 429 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.09, for a total transaction of $85,838.61. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,949.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 587 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.24, for a total transaction of $118,714.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 67,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,621,268.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathy Card Beckles sold 429 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.09, for a total value of $85,838.61. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,220,949.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,648 shares of company stock worth $933,186 in the last 90 days. 1.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Profile

(Get Rating)

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions 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, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, commercial banking and finance, and various other fields.

Further Reading

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