Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Sold by Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. decreased its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 738,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,456 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for about 2.7% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.52% of Verisk Analytics worth $199,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in 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 stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Verisk Analytics stock opened at $272.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a PE ratio of 50.90, a PEG ratio of 3.46 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $271.59 and a 200-day moving average of $252.26.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,356,444.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.31, for a total transaction of $52,462.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,356,444.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 726 shares of company stock worth $196,682. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRSK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Verisk Analytics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $278.00 to $263.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Eight investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.54.

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.