Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 34,775 Shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,161,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 34,775 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $259,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRSK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,241,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,336,366,000 after acquiring an additional 346,525 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Verisk Analytics by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,354,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,346,605,000 after purchasing an additional 158,791 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,694,505 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $426,185,000 after purchasing an additional 26,518 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,493,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,547,000 after purchasing an additional 89,193 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,492,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $375,433,000 after purchasing an additional 360,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $180.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.32. The company has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.72. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.70 and a 1-year high of $322.92.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. The company had revenue of $782.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $771.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Verisk Analytics’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Verisk Analytics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.44%.

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRSK. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $230.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America began coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Verisk Analytics from $239.00 to $206.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total transaction of $68,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,654.88. This trade represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher John Perry acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $180.00 per share, with a total value of $180,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,920. The trade was a 50.15% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.52% 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.