AXQ Capital LP Sells 22,213 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• AXQ Capital significantly reduced its W.R. Berkley position, selling 22,213 shares, or 75.7% of its holdings, and retaining 7,132 shares valued at approximately $503,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 68.82%, with several major investors increasing their stakes, including Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, which expanded its position by 2,864.9%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with an average rating of “Reduce” and a $70.94 price target. W.R. Berkley recently beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.27 EPS and $3.72 billion in quarterly revenue.

AXQ Capital LP reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 75.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 22,213 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,630,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 2,864.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 550,428 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,447,000 after purchasing an additional 531,863 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,790,374 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $195,661,000 after purchasing an additional 26,726 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WRB. 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. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $69.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.07 and a 200-day moving average of $68.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

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

W.R. Berkley Company 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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