Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Stock Position Increased by XXEC Inc.

XXEC Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 22,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Verisk Analytics accounts for approximately 4.6% of XXEC Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $6,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRSK. Wells Fargo & Company raised Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $268.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.33, for a total value of $54,266.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,289,184.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $285.01 on Tuesday. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $217.34 and a one year high of $288.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $270.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 44.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $725.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

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.