Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $11.64 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 158,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $11,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $73.96 on Monday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.97 and a fifty-two week high of $78.48. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.86.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. UBS Group set a $87.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of W.R. Berkley to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.69.

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.