Intech Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 34.6%, now holding 144,852 shares valued at approximately $10.31 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their holdings in W.R. Berkley, with Bayforest Capital Ltd raising its position by 2,129.9% during the same quarter.
• Analyst ratings on W.R. Berkley are mixed, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54 per share.

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 34.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,852 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 76,756 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $10,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 2,129.9% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 18,196 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 17,380 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,539,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $180,724,000 after acquiring an additional 52,594 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4,198.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 777,201 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $55,306,000 after acquiring an additional 759,122 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Capital Management grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 30,437 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $72.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.73. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.80 and a 52-week high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.41.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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