Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Position Raised by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $3,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter worth approximately $245,000. Callahan Advisors LLC grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 22.1% in the second quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 12,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,445,000 after buying an additional 2,314 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 0.7% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,098,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 26.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,654,000 after buying an additional 12,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the second quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.54.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock traded up $1.11 on Friday, hitting $272.82. 658,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 822,093. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $271.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.32 and a 12-month high of $287.13. The company has a market cap of $38.92 billion, a PE ratio of 50.90, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.84.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 29.10%.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

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 value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 directly owns 16,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 726 shares of company stock valued at $196,682. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.