PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $11.61 Million Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $11,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,826,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $909,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 55,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,300,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 56,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,472,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $268.80 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $243.41 and its 200-day moving average is $240.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The company has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a PE ratio of 50.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.83. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $270.38.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The business had revenue of $704.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $699.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total value of $52,462.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,746 shares of company stock worth $2,285,415. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on 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 reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics 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.