Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 148 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRSK. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.23.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK opened at $267.02 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $38.03 billion, a PE ratio of 49.82, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $271.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.47. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.32 and a 52-week high of $287.13.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $716.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued 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, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 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.