Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 104.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 163,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 83,732 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.11% of Verisk Analytics worth $38,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Verisk Analytics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 6,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total transaction of $1,510,461.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,348.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 51,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,528,824.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,829,348.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,647,952. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America downgraded Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRSK traded up $3.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $240.96. 416,395 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,770. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94. The company has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $231.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.95. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $209.02 and a 52-week high of $251.98.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 28.45% and a return on equity of 268.19%. The firm had revenue of $704.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.