Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 56,082 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 71.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 56,082 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Norges Bank bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $272,582,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,366,424 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $417,897,000 after buying an additional 2,616,227 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $98,446,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,949,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $172,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $89,691,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $73.29 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.23. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $51.17 and a 12 month high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.39.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.