Citigroup Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 395,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,158 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of W.R. Berkley worth $30,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 682.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 24,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $567,000. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WRB opened at $71.57 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.68 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WRB. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 9,375,686 shares of company stock worth $647,893,561 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.30% 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.