Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 613,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,258 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $165,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 224,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,410,000 after buying an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 34,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 96,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,914,000 after acquiring an additional 16,925 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 14.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at about $215,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRSK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, August 1st. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.23.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $264.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.72 billion, a PE ratio of 49.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $270.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.80. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

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.