Postrock Partners LLC Takes Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Postrock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,949,000. Verisk Analytics accounts for about 1.4% of Postrock Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,180.70. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock worth $1,613,047 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $289.50 on Friday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $217.34 and a twelve month high of $306.10. The firm has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $287.70 and a 200-day moving average of $279.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The firm had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. Analysts forecast 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 buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase 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 26.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRSK. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays downgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.33.

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.