Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) was in 28 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. VRSK investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. There were 27 hedge funds in our database with VRSK holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are plenty of methods investors can use to analyze Mr. Market. A pair of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outpace the S&P 500 by a healthy margin (see just how much).
Now, it’s important to take a look at the recent action regarding Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK).
How are hedge funds trading Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)?
At Q1’s end, a total of 28 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 4% from one quarter earlier.
Consequently, some big names have jumped into Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) headfirst. Caxton Associates LP, managed by Bruce Kovner, created the largest position in Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK). Caxton Associates LP had 1.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital also initiated a $0.5 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new VRSK investors: Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Mike Vranos’s Ellington.
How are insiders trading Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK)?
Bullish insider trading is best served when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last 180-day time period, Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 11 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK). These stocks are FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT), Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO), Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), and Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS). All of these stocks are in the business services industry and their market caps match VRSK’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:FLT) | 35 | 0 | 19 |
| Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS) | 21 | 0 | 5 |
| Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) | 38 | 2 | 4 |
| Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) | 16 | 0 | 4 |
| Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) | 35 | 0 | 7 |
With the results shown by the aforementioned studies, retail investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Verisk Analytics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSK) applies perfectly to this mantra.
