Verisk Spent $1.9B on Buybacks, CEO Sold at $220
Verisk Analytics insiders sold $4.32 million in shares over 90 days, including CEO Lee Shavel selling at $220.00 on Q2 earnings day, while the stock now trades at $187.50. The company countered with $
VRSK: Insiders Sold at $220; Analyst Target Is $238
NEW YORK, August 22 —
Verisk Analytics, Inc. (VRSK) spent $1.9 billion repurchasing its own shares in the first half of 2026 while insiders filed open-market sales and logged zero purchases over the same 90-day period. The CEO sold at $220.00 on earnings day; the stock now trades at $187.50.
- CEO Shavel sold 2,500 shares at $220.00 on Q2 earnings day; stock has since fallen to $187.50.
- Q2 diluted adjusted EPS of $1.98 beat consensus by 2.6%, the fourth straight quarter of outperformance.
- $4.32 million in insider open-market sales over 90 days; analyst consensus target: $237.71; zero purchases.
The Selling Pattern
On July 29, CEO Lee Shavel sold 2,500 shares at $220.00, the same day Verisk's Q2 earnings call convened. Four days later, he exercised options at $104.00 and sold the resulting 3,535 shares at $196.94. CFO Elizabeth Mann last transacted at $179.95 on August 17, the lowest open-market price in the 90-day window. Aggregate: $4.32 million in open-market sales across multiple executives, zero purchases. The stock now sits more than $50 below the analyst consensus of $237.71, and no insider has moved to close that gap from the buy side.
What the Buyback Is Betting On
Verisk sells data and analytics to the property and casualty insurance industry. Its Underwriting segment ($569 million in Q2 revenue) provides policy language, catastrophe modeling, and loss cost services; the Claims segment ($237 million) runs Xactware property estimating software, anti-fraud analytics, and claims automation. Subscription revenue, 83% of total and growing 8% on an organic constant currency basis in Q2, funds the buyback: $298 million in free cash flow last quarter, up 58% year over year, retiring 8.5 million shares in six months. At 21.6x forward P/E, the DCF calculator favors that recurring revenue model.
| Ticker | Mkt cap | Fwd P/E | 52-wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| VRSK | $24.6B | 21.6x | -29.8% |
| CDW | $17.2B | 11.5x | -17.5% |
| ALLE | $13.8B | 16.6x | -4.4% |
| AME | $54.9B | 26.6x | +29.1% |
| ROP | $40.7B | 17.0x | -22.3% |
| MTD | $28.0B | 27.0x | +8.2% |
What H2 Needs to Deliver
Verisk's reaffirmed guidance (revenue $3.19, $3.24 billion, adjusted EPS $7.45, $7.75) carries an explicit hedge: CFO Mann described June and July hurricane activity as "limited," which "could exert pressure on transactional revenues in the second half of the year." Transactional revenue, already down 4.2% organically in Q2, accounts for 17% of total. The number that breaks guidance: a second consecutive organic decline in Q3. Shavel has argued Verisk grows at roughly 6.8% organically even in soft insurance markets; Q3 transactional revenue is the test. Run the free Verisk Analytics, Inc. deep-dive → to track the Q3 result.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Did Verisk Analytics insiders sell shares recently?
Executives filed $4.32 million in open-market sales over a 90-day window with zero purchases recorded. CEO Lee Shavel sold 2,500 shares at $220.00 on the day of the Q2 earnings call, and CFO Elizabeth Mann last transacted at $179.95 on August 17, the lowest open-market price logged across all insider sales in the period.
Why is Verisk stock trading below analyst targets?
Verisk shares trade at $187.50, more than $50 below the analyst consensus target of $237.71. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance, but the CFO noted that limited hurricane activity in June and July could pressure transactional revenues in the second half of 2026.
How much has Verisk spent on share buybacks?
Verisk repurchased $1.9 billion of its own shares in the first half of 2026, retiring 8.5 million shares over six months. The company generated $298 million in free cash flow in Q2, up 58% year over year.
How did Verisk perform in its Q2 2026 earnings report?
Q2 diluted adjusted EPS of $1.98 beat consensus by 2.6%, the fourth consecutive quarter of outperformance. Underwriting segment revenue reached $569 million and the Claims segment $237 million, with subscription revenue growing 8% on an organic constant currency basis.
What could pressure Verisk results in the second half of 2026?
CFO Elizabeth Mann described June and July hurricane activity as limited, a factor that could weigh on transactional revenues in H2. Transactional revenue was already down 4.2% organically in Q2 and accounts for 17% of total revenue; a second consecutive organic decline in Q3 would test the reaffirmed guidance range of $7.45 to $7.75 in adjusted EPS.
Verisk Analytics CEO Lee Shavel sold 2,500 shares at $220.00 on July 29 — the same day as the Q2 earnings call — and the stock has since fallen to $187.50, with CFO Elizabeth Mann logging the 90-day window's lowest insider transaction at $179.95 on August 17. Wall Street's consensus price target sits at $237.71, a figure no insider has moved toward by purchasing a single share.