Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 793,698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 67,068 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $55,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently commented on WRB. BMO Capital Markets raised W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.44.
W.R. Berkley News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: W.R. Berkley extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility, which helps preserve financial flexibility and reduces near-term refinancing risk. W. R. Berkley Extends Revolving Credit Facility Maturity
- Positive Sentiment: The company named Kirk A. Parker president of Berkley North Pacific, suggesting continuity in leadership and ongoing execution across its insurance operations. W. R. Berkley Corporation Names Kirk A. Parker President of Berkley North Pacific
- Positive Sentiment: Several recent market articles describe WRB as a strong momentum stock and discuss its valuation after recent share-price strength, which may be helping investor sentiment. W.R. Berkley (WRB) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
- Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing W. R. Berkley’s first-quarter results with other property and casualty insurers appear to be informational rather than clearly stock-moving. Property & casualty insurance stocks Q1 teardown: W R Berkley (NYSE:WRB) vs the rest
- Neutral Sentiment: Coverage assessing WRB’s valuation and pricing signals suggests the stock may be fairly nuanced at current levels, but it does not point to a clear catalyst by itself. Assessing W. R. Berkley (WRB) Valuation After Recent Share Price Strength And Mixed Pricing Signals
- Negative Sentiment: The death of founder William R. Berkley is a sentiment headwind, and investors may worry about the longer-term implications of losing the company’s longtime visionary leader. American entrepreneur W.R. Berkley has died
- Negative Sentiment: The company also announced a broader leadership transition after the founder’s passing, which can create uncertainty even if the succession plan is orderly. W. R. Berkley Announces Leadership Transition After Founder’s Passing
W.R. Berkley Stock Down 1.1%
Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $67.42 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.55 and its 200 day moving average is $68.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.
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.
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