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

WBI Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 26.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,812 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%

WRB stock opened at $68.80 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.63 and a twelve month 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.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 prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.