Analysts Set Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Target Price at $282.14

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $282.1429.

VRSK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $314.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $239.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Verisk Analytics from $334.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Verisk Analytics Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of VRSK opened at $217.64 on Friday. Verisk Analytics has a 1 year low of $196.99 and a 1 year high of $322.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.55, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.54. The firm has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.81.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.02. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 30.42% and a return on equity of 425.42%. The firm had revenue of $768.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $776.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.800-7.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CEO Lee Shavel sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.99, for a total transaction of $238,689.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,883,340.93. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sabra R. Purtill purchased 450 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $217.95 per share, for a total transaction of $98,077.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,327 shares in the company, valued at $289,219.65. This trade represents a 51.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 1,450 shares of company stock worth $314,663 and have sold 2,000 shares worth $442,317. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRSK. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 10.0% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 19,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 96.1% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 5.0% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 102.5% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 106,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,830,000 after acquiring an additional 54,091 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.