Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Has $5.62 Million Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 10.3% in the second quarter, holding 76,484 shares worth approximately $5.62 million.
• The recent quarterly earnings report showed that W.R. Berkley Corporation exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $1.05 EPS compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.5%, which will be paid to investors of record on September 22nd.

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. trimmed its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,749 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley makes up 1.7% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.'s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $5,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 70.8% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,224,000 after buying an additional 7,131 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $3,493,000. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2,129.9% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 18,196 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 17,380 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,539,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $180,724,000 after buying an additional 52,594 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $73.43 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.80 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The stock has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average is $70.79 and its 200-day moving average is $70.24.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.54.

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.

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