W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 114,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 558 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $8,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 7,320 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,304 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.5 %

WRB opened at $86.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.80. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $79.00 price objective (up previously from $69.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

About W. R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.