Rep. Rick Larsen Buys Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock

Representative Rick Larsen (D-Washington) recently bought shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK). In a filing disclosed on January 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Verisk Analytics stock on January 7th.

Representative Rick Larsen also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 1/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) on 1/7/2025.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of VRSK stock opened at $273.81 on Thursday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $296.58. The company has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $282.46 and its 200 day moving average is $274.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $725.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays cut shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.71, for a total transaction of $280,710.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 53,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,923,385.73. This trade represents a 1.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total value of $57,298.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,471,535.92. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,379 shares of company stock valued at $946,141. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 188.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,454,000 after acquiring an additional 16,742 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 899.1% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 479.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after buying an additional 13,943 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 15.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 35,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,622,000 after buying an additional 4,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 5.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 44,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Larsen

Rick Larsen (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Washington’s 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2001. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Larsen (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Washington’s 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the primary scheduled on August 6, 2024. Since at least 2011, Larsen has been assigned to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Larsen’s first position as an elected official was in 1998 as a member of the Snohomish County Council. Larsen earned his bachelor’s degree from Pacific Lutheran University. After earning his master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota, Larsen worked as the director of public affairs for the Washington State Dental Association and then as an economic development official with the Port of Everett. He went on to serve on the Snohomish County Council before seeking election to the U.S. House.

Verisk Analytics Company 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.