Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Receives $293.11 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $293.11.

VRSK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays cut Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Insider Activity at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.95, for a total transaction of $347,746.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,180.70. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total value of $595,428.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,557,155.96. This represents a 18.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,469 shares of company stock worth $1,264,818. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 468.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 91 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $295.86 on Monday. Verisk Analytics has a fifty-two week low of $217.34 and a fifty-two week high of $296.94. The stock has a market cap of $41.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $282.27 and a 200-day moving average of $276.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 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.