W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 445,267 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,635 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $33,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108 over the last quarter. 23.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $67.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.13. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $60.68 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.