HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Sells 2,321 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lessened its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,321 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 81.9% in the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,484 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 40,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,994,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 19.3% in the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 185,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,650,000 after acquiring an additional 30,100 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.46.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $71.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $74.09 and its 200-day moving average is $72.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $78.48. The company has a market capitalization of $27.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.42.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.56%.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.