Cambridge Trust Co. Cuts Holdings in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,308 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. owned 0.05% of Verisk Analytics worth $18,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 67.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut Verisk Analytics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.00.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of VRSK traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $222.81. 300,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 870,911. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.85. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.86 and a 52 week high of $251.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $236.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.36. The company has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.79, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The business services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.04). Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 305.15% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $677.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $673.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.05%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,407.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Verisk Analytics news, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.06, for a total value of $1,510,461.86. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,829,348.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.61, for a total value of $53,937.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,852,407.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics 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.