Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 3,541 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,494 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,541 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. CHB Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. CHB Investment Group LLC now owns 50,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,598,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 107.3% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of WRB traded up $0.73 on Thursday, reaching $71.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,422,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,774,092. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $51.41 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.80 and a 200-day moving average of $65.87.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 8.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.42.

W.R. Berkley 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.