Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,655 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRSK. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Trading Down 0.2 %

VRSK opened at $268.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.32 and a 52 week high of $287.13. The stock has a market cap of $38.28 billion, a PE ratio of 50.15, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $271.71 and a 200-day moving average of $254.10.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRSK. Barclays raised their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $268.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total value of $88,743.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at $4,551,251.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.