Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 22,788 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,831,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 22,788 shares during the period. W.R. Berkley accounts for approximately 1.5% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $140,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 23,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,834,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 705.6% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 22,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,687,000 after acquiring an additional 19,284 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 4,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.55 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.05 and a 200-day moving average of $72.11.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $71.10 per share, with a total value of $1,422,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 56,438,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,012,788,441.60. This represents a 0.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders bought 7,632,068 shares of company stock worth $524,335,948 in the last quarter. Insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho cut their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley 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.