Allstate Corp Increases Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 143.9% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 16,156 shares and bringing its total holding to 27,381 shares worth about $1.92 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 beating estimates of $1.13 and revenue of $3.69 billion topping forecasts. Revenue also rose 1.3% year over year, and the company posted a net margin of 12.64% and return on equity of 18.92%.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: several firms trimmed price targets or downgraded the stock, and MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Reduce" with a consensus price target of $68.81. The shares were also trading down 1.3% at $64.41, near their 52-week low.

Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 143.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,381 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,156 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in 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 last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE WRB opened at $64.41 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $78.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $66.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.33.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 146,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $10,646,320.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,668,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,278,090,540.08. This represents a 0.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Brean Capital cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.81.

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.

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