Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,151 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 346,646 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $82,800,000 after acquiring an additional 34,077 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 225.5% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 205,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,993,000 after acquiring an additional 142,088 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 8,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 421.9% during the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,011,000 after purchasing an additional 60,957 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK traded up $0.92 on Thursday, hitting $273.28. 340,201 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 677,401. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.32 and a fifty-two week high of $273.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.88 and its 200 day moving average is $242.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 268.19% and a net margin of 28.45%. The business had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $699.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.08.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total value of $376,057.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $13,066,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,265 shares of company stock valued at $774,953 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Profile

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.