Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 2,847 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,120 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,847 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,065,224 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $829,511,000 after buying an additional 529,817 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 6,819,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $432,946,000 after buying an additional 302,212 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,639,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $358,039,000 after purchasing an additional 699,297 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 5.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,001,848 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $127,097,000 after purchasing an additional 98,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,748,610 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $111,019,000 after purchasing an additional 62,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $83.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.57. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $55.50 and a 1-year high of $89.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.09.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.94 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.88.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.