Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $94.36 Million Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,231,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,752 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley comprises about 1.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.32% of W.R. Berkley worth $94,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.4% during the second quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.7% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.0% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.1% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 204,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.38 per share, with a total value of $14,177,803.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 48,805,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,386,155,978.44. The trade was a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 610,350 shares of company stock worth $42,548,323. 23.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.97 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.56 and a 200-day moving average of $72.62.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 7.56%.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo/Mitsui bought roughly 204k shares (several trades Dec. 18–22) at ~$69–70 per share, spending about $42M and increasing its stake by ~0.4% — a vote of confidence from a large, strategic holder that likely helped push WRB higher today. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.5 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Company recently declared a small quarterly dividend ($0.09; $0.36 annualized, ~0.5% yield) with a Dec. 29 payment date — income-focused but not a material catalyst given the low yield. This is consistent with a capital-return policy that emphasizes buybacks/underwriting strength. W.R. Berkley stock — MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: consensus rating is essentially “Hold” with an average price target near $73.93 (several holds/neutral ratings and a range of targets). That tempers upside expectations despite insider buying and recent earnings beats. Analyst ratings and targets — MarketBeat

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.93.

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.