Analysts Set Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) Price Target at $237.20

Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $237.20.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRSK shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Verisk Analytics in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $224.00 price objective on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Verisk Analytics from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $260.00 in a report on Monday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Verisk Analytics in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Verisk Analytics from $260.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th.

Verisk Analytics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRSK opened at $185.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $199.98 and a 200-day moving average of $219.66. Verisk Analytics has a one year low of $164.60 and a one year high of $322.92.

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

Verisk Analytics declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 10.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Verisk Analytics Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Verisk Analytics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Verisk Analytics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Verisk Analytics

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Verisk Analytics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Verisk Analytics by 1,200.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,264,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $730,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,400 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Verisk Analytics during the second quarter valued at approximately $556,192,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 580,885 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Verisk Analytics by 1,879.0% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 566,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $142,414,000 after buying an additional 537,623 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Verisk Analytics by 232.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 760,599 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $191,298,000 after buying an additional 531,713 shares in the last quarter. 90.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.