Fisher Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 897 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 767.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 75,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,047,000 after purchasing an additional 66,724 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 31.5% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 9.7% during the second quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 178.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,516 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.02, for a total value of $372,966.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,807,904.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.9 %

VRSK opened at $239.28 on Tuesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.74 and a 12-month high of $249.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.22, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a PE ratio of 70.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $237.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.05.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $677.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.33 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 19.04% and a return on equity of 135.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSK. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $229.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Monday, October 30th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned 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 $248.23.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets 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, and various other fields.