Riverbridge Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,551 shares during the quarter. Verisk Analytics accounts for about 1.4% of Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $73,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics in the 2nd quarter worth $556,192,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 334.5% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $188,237,000 after acquiring an additional 580,885 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% in the third quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $142,414,000 after acquiring an additional 537,623 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Verisk Analytics by 232.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 760,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $191,298,000 after acquiring an additional 531,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 114.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 987,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,243,000 after acquiring an additional 526,508 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRSK. Raymond James Financial raised Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Verisk Analytics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Verisk Analytics from $239.00 to $206.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher John Perry bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $180.00 per share, for a total transaction of $180,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,920. This trade represents a 50.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.71, for a total transaction of $81,884.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,808.64. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $185.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.66. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.60 and a 12-month high of $322.92. The firm has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.22. Verisk Analytics had a return on equity of 357.00% and a net margin of 29.56%.The firm had revenue of $778.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $773.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

Verisk Analytics announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 10.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Verisk Analytics

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.