HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Invests $200,000 in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 743 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $374,530,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 90.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,141,516 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,663,000 after acquiring an additional 542,432 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,342,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $320,722,000 after purchasing an additional 422,002 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 178.5% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 319,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,278,000 after purchasing an additional 204,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,407,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,919,008,000 after purchasing an additional 170,620 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $268.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $271.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.10. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.32 and a 52-week high of $287.13. The firm has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.15, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 252.11% and a net margin of 32.03%. The business had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRSK shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.40% 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.