Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $134.81 Million Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its stake in W.R. Berkley by 7.6% in the first quarter, but still held 2.03 million shares valued at about $134.8 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.30 per share beating estimates and revenue of $3.69 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 1.3% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.09 to $0.10 per share, while analysts currently have a cautious outlook with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,033,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 167,916 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.54% of W.R. Berkley worth $134,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $155,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213,679 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $193,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,349 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE WRB opened at $71.79 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.29. The business's fifty day moving average is $68.48 and its 200 day moving average is $68.32.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Brean Capital downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.00.

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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