Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 8,538 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 24.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,987 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,538 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th 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. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $71.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

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.