Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Lowers Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,494 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 19,641 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $7,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $72.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,765,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,861,626. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $67.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated 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. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $69.69.

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.