Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Price Target Raised to $285.00

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) had its price target hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $268.00 to $285.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $268.29.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

VRSK traded up $2.19 on Thursday, reaching $263.56. The stock had a trading volume of 326,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,458. Verisk Analytics has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $268.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.65. The company has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 270.96%. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,066,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.88, for a total transaction of $376,057.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,066,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,237 shares of company stock valued at $572,739. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1.2% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,517 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 19.0% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 263 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.9% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 28.4% in the first quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

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.