Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 26,222 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 261,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 26,222 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $70,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 3,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $300,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Eight equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.23.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $55,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $264.85 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $270.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $722.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

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

Verisk Analytics Company 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.