Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 260,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,349,000. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.07% of W.R. Berkley as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after purchasing an additional 309,828 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after purchasing an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,752,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,523,000 after buying an additional 20,538 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.94.
W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.5%
NYSE:WRB opened at $69.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.
About W.R. Berkley
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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