Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) is Ycg LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Ycg LLC lowered its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,432 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics makes up 4.3% of Ycg LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ycg LLC owned about 0.14% of Verisk Analytics worth $53,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 188.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,454,000 after purchasing an additional 16,742 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 899.1% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,919 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 10,726 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 479.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 13,943 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 35,908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,622,000 after purchasing an additional 4,767 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $290.53 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $287.13 and a 200 day moving average of $279.86. The company has a market capitalization of $40.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.32, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.89. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $217.34 and a 1-year high of $306.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 274.13% and a net margin of 32.65%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 26.87%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $280.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,155.96. The trade was a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.81, for a total value of $321,642.99. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,958.66. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,648 shares of company stock valued at $1,613,047 in the last ninety days. Company 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.