Maren Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) by 49.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 536,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 527,355 shares during the period. W.R. Berkley makes up 2.0% of Maren Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Maren Capital LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $37,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.31.
W.R. Berkley Price Performance
Shares of WRB opened at $68.15 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average of $68.45. 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 52 week low of $62.87 and a 52 week high of $78.96.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company 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 was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced 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 is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 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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