TD Asset Management Inc Sells 150,580 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

TD Asset Management Inc cut its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 27.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 405,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 150,580 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 0.11% of W.R. Berkley worth $31,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 21,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 147,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.63 per share, with a total value of $10,529,610.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,522,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,191,950,486.62. This trade represents a 0.25% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 9,675,686 shares of company stock worth $669,388,681 in the last three months. 23.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $71.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.68 and a 1-year high of $78.96. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.