Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 235,727 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 803,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 235,727 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.22% of W.R. Berkley worth $53,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB stock opened at $75.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Argus cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.94.

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.