Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $12,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 61,889 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,046,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 68.7% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 105,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,011,000 after acquiring an additional 42,883 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 41,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.38, for a total value of $88,614.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,922,507.70. The trade was a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce Edward Hansen sold 1,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.36, for a total transaction of $348,229.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,071,832.96. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,837 shares of company stock worth $1,121,618 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $293.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.34 and a 1 year high of $306.68. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $292.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.20.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $735.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.55 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. 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 0.61%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 26.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered shares of Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $325.00 to $321.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $298.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $297.40.

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.