Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 632,626 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 36.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,103,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 632,626 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $73,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE WRB opened at $71.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.32. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

W.R. Berkley 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.