85,462 W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management reduced its W.R. Berkley stake by 8.3%, selling 85,462 shares and retaining 946,290 shares worth approximately $63.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.82% of the company.
• W.R. Berkley shares rose 1.8% to $68.73, while the insurer’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $1.27 in EPS and $3.72 billion in revenue.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a 0.6% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a generally cautious view, with an average “Reduce” rating and a $70.83 price target.

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 946,290 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 85,462 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.25% of W.R. Berkley worth $63,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.5% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.5% during the first quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of WRB stock traded up $1.19 on Thursday, hitting $68.73. 433,188 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,299,724. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.61. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $70.83.

About W.R. Berkley

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that specializes in commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Through a group of operating units, the company provides coverage for businesses and organizations facing risks related to property damage, liability, workers' compensation, transportation, professional services and other specialty exposures.

The company generally focuses on specialty and complex risks that may require tailored underwriting, industry expertise and customized policy structures.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.