Tredje AP fonden Lowers Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 42.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,883 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

WRB stock opened at $71.08 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.19. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.20 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 160,582 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.80 per share, with a total value of $11,369,205.60. Following the purchase, the insider owned 57,668,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,082,938,296. This trade represents a 0.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders bought 8,822,032 shares of company stock worth $608,511,512. Company insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

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.