W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 60,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,886 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $4,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $66.76 on Tuesday. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $62.87 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.73.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $68.44.

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.