Callan Family Office LLC Sells 12,694 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 64.8%, selling 12,694 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 6,898 shares valued at $491,000.
• W.R. Berkley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.09 per share, up from the previous $0.08, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have mixed views on W.R. Berkley, with target prices ranging from $68.00 to $80.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold" based on recent ratings from various firms.

Callan Family Office LLC decreased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,898 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,694 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,939,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,673. The business's 50-day moving average is $70.70 and its 200-day moving average is $68.37. The company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.80 and a one year high of $76.38.

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

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.