W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Lowered to $72.00 at Morgan Stanley

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.19.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $66.10 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.38. W.R. Berkley has a twelve month low of $62.63 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. This represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have bought 7,559,987 shares of company stock worth $521,633,836 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Company 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.