Swiss National Bank Has $67.02 Million Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 874,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 43,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.23% of W.R. Berkley worth $67,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $60.68 and a 1 year 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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 bought 370,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108. 23.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.