W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Stock Position Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,234 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $5,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $67.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.52. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $63.67 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 220,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $71.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,653,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,888,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,118,775,313. This trade represents a 0.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders acquired 1,111,830 shares of company stock valued at $79,622,596. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.81.

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.