Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) Given New $260.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $243.00 to $260.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $255.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $267.77.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $266.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.86, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $215.32 and a one year high of $287.13. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.75, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.84.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.10. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 32.03% and a return on equity of 252.11%. The firm had revenue of $716.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $722.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.10%.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total value of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 200 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.38, for a total transaction of $55,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,551,251.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 326 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.22, for a total transaction of $88,743.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,033,483.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,237 shares of company stock worth $572,739. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Verisk Analytics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.