TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 12,480 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,480 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for approximately 1.2% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned 0.24% of Verisk Analytics worth $83,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Verisk Analytics in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Verisk Analytics by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 150 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the third quarter worth $39,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 506.5% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 188 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 90.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRSK shares. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $238.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Verisk Analytics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.31.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of VRSK stock traded up $0.41 on Thursday, reaching $244.98. 522,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 902,776. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.52 and a 200-day moving average of $236.15. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a one year low of $212.90 and a one year high of $251.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.71, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.79.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 268.19% and a net margin of 28.45%. The company had revenue of $704.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $699.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, June 15th will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 51,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,528,824.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.93, for a total value of $346,433.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 51,715 shares in the company, valued at $11,528,824.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO David J. Grover sold 6,481 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,300 shares of company stock worth $2,647,952. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.