Danske Bank A S Boosts Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Danske Bank A/S boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.7% in Q4 to 508,907 shares, valued at about $35.7 million (roughly 0.13% of the company).
• W.R. Berkley beat expectations in its most recent quarter, reporting $1.30 EPS versus $1.13 expected and $3.69 billion in revenue versus $3.18 billion, while analysts forecast $4.61 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Significant insider and institutional interest: Sumitomo Insurance bought 345,000 shares (~$24.4M), insiders purchased 2.637 million shares last quarter and now own 23.3% of the company, while institutional investors hold 68.82%.

Danske Bank A S boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 508,907 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,638 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S owned approximately 0.13% of W.R. Berkley worth $35,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 61.0% in the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 4,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $391,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 5,236 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $66.41 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $67.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 345,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $24,374,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 57,508,038 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,942,884.70. This represents a 0.60% 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 quarter, insiders have bought 2,637,015 shares of company stock valued at $186,673,233. Insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $68.81.

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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