Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,159,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 65,996 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $81,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have commented on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Argus downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.81.
W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.4%
Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $65.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.10.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.
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.
See Also
- Five stocks we like better than W.R. Berkley
- Marvell Stock Soars on NVIDIA’s Trillion-Dollar Nod
- FirstCash Turns Pawn Into a Growth Machine
- HubSpot Just Crushed the Bear Case—Is a Bigger Rally Ahead?
- Aggressive Insider Buying Signals Opportunity in 3 Risky Stocks
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for W.R. Berkley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for W.R. Berkley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
