WBI Investments LLC Lowers Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

WBI Investments LLC lessened its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,812 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.9% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,496,000 after acquiring an additional 16,450 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $401,607,000 after purchasing an additional 242,546 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 133.5% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 18,022 shares during the period. American Trust purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $1,847,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,762,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB opened at $68.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.06. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.63 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108 in the last three months. 23.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.