Bank of America Begins Coverage on Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Equities research analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 13.13% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on VRSK. Argus lowered Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Verisk Analytics from $315.00 to $239.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.21.

Verisk Analytics Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $181.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.55, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $164.60 and a one year high of $322.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79.

Insider Transactions at Verisk Analytics

In other news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.54, for a total value of $65,862.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,738.10. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 50.7% in the third quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 424,645 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,802,000 after buying an additional 142,911 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,196,460 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,931,000 after acquiring an additional 73,026 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,256,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 101,970 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,646,000 after acquiring an additional 17,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $366,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

Verisk Analytics, Inc (NASDAQ: VRSK) is a data analytics and decision‑support provider that helps organizations assess and manage risk. The company supplies data, predictive models and software to customers in insurance, reinsurance, financial services, government, energy and other commercial markets. Its offerings are designed to support underwriting, pricing, claims management, catastrophe modeling, fraud detection and regulatory compliance, enabling clients to make more informed operational and strategic decisions.

Verisk’s product portfolio combines large proprietary datasets with analytics platforms and industry‑specific applications.