Bayforest Capital Ltd Sells 15,089 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 82.9%, selling 15,089 shares and retaining 3,107 shares valued at $228,000.
• W.R. Berkley's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with targets ranging from $68.00 to $87.00, and an average consensus target price of $73.69.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, yielding 0.5% on an annualized basis, reflecting a payout ratio of 8.20%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd cut its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 82.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,107 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,089 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $279,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $87.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.69.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $73.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.81. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.97 and a one year high of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.42.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.