SEB Asset Management AB Takes Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 59,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.9% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 132,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,764,000 after buying an additional 11,894 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at $340,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,049 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 2,229 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at $24,189,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 157.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,647 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 3,453 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $72.41 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.37. The firm has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WRB. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.44.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.