W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 92,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 39,228 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $6,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $73.08 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.80 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.09. The company has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.41.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WRB shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley 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.