Andra AP fonden Lowers Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Andra AP fonden cut its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 89.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 158,593 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,630,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 118,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,336,000 after purchasing an additional 18,820 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 105.4% during the 4th quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after purchasing an additional 15,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $65,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $73.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $69.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.40.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

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.