Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 81,648 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management reduced its W.R. Berkley stake by 7.3%, selling 81,648 shares during the second quarter but retaining 1.03 million shares valued at approximately $72.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 68.82% of the company.
• W.R. Berkley reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.27 versus the $1.08 consensus and revenue of $3.72 billion, up 2.4% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $4.79.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.09 to $0.10 per share, representing a $0.40 annualized payout and a 0.6% yield. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “Reduce” rating and a $70.94 target price.

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,031,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 81,648 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.28% of W.R. Berkley worth $72,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 34,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $72.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $69.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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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