Stephens Inc. AR Reduces Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 38.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,325 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 104,690 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $11,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Stance Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 376.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 38,013 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,630,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 118,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,336,000 after acquiring an additional 18,820 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 15,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock traded up $1.94 on Tuesday, reaching $72.86. The stock had a trading volume of 140,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,459. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.23. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $64.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.50.

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.