Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management cut its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.1% in Q4, selling 50,031 shares and leaving it with 1,181,506 shares (~0.31% of the company) valued at about $82.8 million.
• Insider buying: Major shareholder Sumitomo purchased 112,176 shares at $72.20 (~$8.10 million), part of insider purchases totaling 9.53 million shares in the last three months, and insiders now own 23.3% of the company.
• Stock snapshot and outlook: WRB shares recently traded around $66.22 with a market cap of $24.8 billion, a P/E of 14.9 and a $0.36 annualized dividend (0.5% yield); analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating with an average target of $69.67.

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,181,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 50,031 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.31% of W.R. Berkley worth $82,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 87,943 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,461,000 after buying an additional 7,598 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. This represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,525,512 shares of company stock worth $659,778,305. 23.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $66.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.98. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.35. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.63 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm's revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, 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 Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 8.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.67.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company's product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.

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