EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 20th, 2023

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 31,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRSK. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 248.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,765,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $664,346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684,234 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $268,659,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 879.0% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 858,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $164,799,000 after buying an additional 771,220 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 3,412.2% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 647,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $124,197,000 after buying an additional 628,900 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Verisk Analytics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $91,795,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRSK shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics from $201.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VRSK

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $246.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $236.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.41. The company has a market cap of $35.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.83. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $162.94 and a 1 year high of $249.26.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $675.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.13 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 18.64% and a return on equity of 83.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

In other Verisk Analytics news, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.13, for a total value of $87,963.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,570.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Daffan sold 1,564 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.75, for a total value of $356,201.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 41,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,475,994.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Kathy Card Beckles sold 396 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.13, for a total transaction of $87,963.48. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,569,570.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,637 shares of company stock valued at $4,114,332 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Company Profile

(Free Report)

Verisk Analytics, Inc provides data analytics solutions to the insurance markets in the United States and internationally. The company provides predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, and various other fields.