Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 12,202 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 36.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,202 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 202,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.26 per share, with a total value of $14,192,520.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 49,211,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,457,630,763.88. The trade was a 0.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 610,350 shares of company stock worth $42,548,323 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about W.R. Berkley

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo/Mitsui bought roughly 204k shares (several trades Dec. 18–22) at ~$69–70 per share, spending about $42M and increasing its stake by ~0.4% — a vote of confidence from a large, strategic holder that likely helped push WRB higher today. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.5 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Company recently declared a small quarterly dividend ($0.09; $0.36 annualized, ~0.5% yield) with a Dec. 29 payment date — income-focused but not a material catalyst given the low yield. This is consistent with a capital-return policy that emphasizes buybacks/underwriting strength. W.R. Berkley stock — MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: consensus rating is essentially “Hold” with an average price target near $73.93 (several holds/neutral ratings and a range of targets). That tempers upside expectations despite insider buying and recent earnings beats. Analyst ratings and targets — MarketBeat

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $55.97 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.62.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho set a $67.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.93.

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.