Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 978,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 54,654 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.69% of Verisk Analytics worth $263,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $267.98 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.40. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.32 and a 52 week high of $287.13. The stock has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.00, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VRSK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.54.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 726 shares of company stock worth $196,682. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.