W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $76.00 Price Target at Argus

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price cut by Argus from $82.00 to $76.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $67.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley has a 52 week low of $58.07 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $25.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.80 and its 200-day moving average is $72.05.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 195,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.36 per share, with a total value of $13,330,200.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 56,103,435 shares in the company, valued at $3,835,230,816.60. This represents a 0.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders bought 7,296,847 shares of company stock valued at $501,460,875. Insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Sun Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $412,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $65,233,000. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 38,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 508,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,685,000 after purchasing an additional 40,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.