W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Lowered to $94.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $99.00 to $94.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WRB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE WRB opened at $76.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.26 and its 200 day moving average is $76.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.57.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 12.23%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Institutional Trading of W. R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $213,635,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $82,706,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 89.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,904,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,690,000 after buying an additional 898,027 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 612.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,006,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $63,904,000 after acquiring an additional 865,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 213.9% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,147,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $72,884,000 after acquiring an additional 782,280 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.