59,523 Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Bought by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 59,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%

WRB stock opened at $72.41 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.86 and its 200 day moving average is $68.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WRB. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. 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 note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.44.

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.