Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Acquires 25,931 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,657,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,931 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley comprises approximately 2.6% of Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. owned 0.44% of W.R. Berkley worth $126,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $68.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.09. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.97 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders bought 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.