Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New $976,000 Investment in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of WRB opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.13. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $60.68 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 370,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108 in the last quarter. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

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.