Korea Investment CORP Has $11.73 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Korea Investment CORP lowered its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 25.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 51,220 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $11,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in 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 $67.85 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.54 and its 200-day moving average is $72.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $60.68 and a 12-month high of $78.96.

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

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRB. Wall Street Zen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

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.