Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.90 Million Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $2,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VRSK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of Verisk Analytics 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Verisk Analytics news, 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 value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $265.96 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $271.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.63. The company has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.62, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.32 and a 52-week high of $287.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The business had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.