W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by APG Asset Management N.V.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,191 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.13% of W.R. Berkley worth $38,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 16.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 25.4% during the third quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 27,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,088,000 after acquiring an additional 5,517 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 345.0% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 75,461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,782,000 after acquiring an additional 7,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE WRB opened at $71.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.68 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $69.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.22.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 147,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $71.63 per share, with a total value of $10,529,610.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,522,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,191,950,486.62. The trade was a 0.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,675,686 shares of company stock valued at $669,388,681. 23.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

About W.R. Berkley

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.