Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $297.44 Million Stake in Verisk Analytics, Inc. $VRSK

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) by 34.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,567,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 405,824 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Verisk Analytics were worth $297,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1,200.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,264,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $730,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,400 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Verisk Analytics during the 4th quarter worth about $346,457,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 334.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 754,548 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $188,237,000 after purchasing an additional 580,885 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Verisk Analytics by 114.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 987,011 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,243,000 after purchasing an additional 526,508 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Verisk Analytics by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 874,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $220,051,000 after purchasing an additional 468,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.00% of the company’s stock.

Verisk Analytics Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRSK opened at $190.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $177.52 and a 200-day moving average of $190.80. Verisk Analytics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.94 and a 52-week high of $305.73.

Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $782.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $771.62 million. Verisk Analytics had a net margin of 29.34% and a negative return on equity of 2,405.75%. Verisk Analytics’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.73 EPS. Verisk Analytics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.450-7.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Verisk Analytics, Inc. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Verisk Analytics Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Verisk Analytics’s payout ratio is currently 30.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Verisk Analytics from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Verisk Analytics from $225.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Verisk Analytics from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $185.00 target price on Verisk Analytics and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elizabeth Mann sold 400 shares of Verisk Analytics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.22, for a total transaction of $63,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,118,164.48. This trade represents a 2.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Samuel G. Liss sold 6,765 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.63, for a total value of $1,201,666.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 69,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,273,877.74. This trade represents a 8.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,507 shares of company stock valued at $2,925,710. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.