Barclays PLC Has $91.38 Million Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Barclays PLC reduced its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 13.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,192,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 183,646 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.31% of W.R. Berkley worth $91,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have bought a total of 9,933,862 shares of company stock valued at $688,134,108 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.5%

WRB stock opened at $69.93 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.35. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.22. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.68 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

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). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Four research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

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.