Polar Capital Holdings Plc lowered its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,445,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 305,000 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $171,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have weighed in on WRB. Brean Capital lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $68.31.
W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%
WRB opened at $68.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.32.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
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.
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