California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 270,746 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 270,746 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of W.R. Berkley worth $33,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after purchasing an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after buying an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $435,752,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,523,000 after buying an additional 20,538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $72.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.

More W.R. Berkley News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: WRB beat Q2 earnings expectations and posted better-than-expected revenue, suggesting solid underlying business momentum and stronger-than-anticipated underwriting results.
• Positive Sentiment: The quarter benefited from premium growth, higher investment income, and lower catastrophe losses, all of which are favorable for insurers’ profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, with Truist raising its price target to $83 and maintaining a buy rating, while Mizuho also lifted its target to $74.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that revenue missed certain Wall Street expectations in a separate headline, but the earnings beat and strong insurance fundamentals appear to be outweighing that concern.

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.