Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 118,778 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec has reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 26.0%, now holding 337,625 shares worth approximately $24.03 million.
• W.R. Berkley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.09 per share, up from $0.08, marking a 0.5% yield with a payout ratio of 8.20%.
• Analysts have varying opinions on W.R. Berkley, with ratings ranging from strong buy to sell, and a consensus rating of "hold" alongside an average target price of $72.54.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,625 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 118,778 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.09% of W.R. Berkley worth $24,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $71.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,383,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,099. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.09. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.80 and a 12 month high of $76.38.

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

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. 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 research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.