Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Shares Bought by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,874 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.08% of Verisk Analytics worth $32,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 161.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,491,000 after buying an additional 3,417 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 1,017 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,398,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.49, for a total transaction of $57,298.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,608 shares in the company, valued at $4,471,535.92. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 2,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.06, for a total transaction of $595,428.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,490 shares of company stock valued at $1,541,570. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

VRSK stock opened at $288.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.94, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.88. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.34 and a fifty-two week high of $296.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $281.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.11.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.07. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.65% and a return on equity of 274.13%. The business had revenue of $725.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $722.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSK has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $283.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $263.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Verisk Analytics from $285.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered Verisk Analytics from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.11.

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.