Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 45,921 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 45,921 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $24,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WRB. 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 acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

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

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $68.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

W.R. Berkley 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.