69,162 Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Acquired by Nykredit A S

Key Points

• Nykredit A S acquired 69,162 shares of W.R. Berkley worth approximately $4.88 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 68.82% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: although some firms raised price targets and Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to “buy,” the consensus rating is “Reduce” with a $70.83 target price.
• W.R. Berkley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in earnings per share versus a $1.08 estimate and $3.72 billion in revenue. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 69,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,878,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $435,752,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $105,639,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $95,040,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $193,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.83.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.80 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $70.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.67. The company has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 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.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.W.R. Berkley's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.

Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers' compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.

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