Madison Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management trimmed its W.R. Berkley stake by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 106,486 shares and ending with 1.72 million shares valued at about $120.9 million.
• Analysts turned more cautious on WRB, with several firms cutting ratings or price targets; the stock now carries a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average target price of $68.81.
• W.R. Berkley reported solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with $1.30 EPS and $3.69 billion in revenue, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share.

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,724,598 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 106,486 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley accounts for approximately 1.4% of Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Madison Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.45% of W.R. Berkley worth $120,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,496,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $401,607,000 after acquiring an additional 242,546 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 133.5% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 18,022 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,762,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 376.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 38,013 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Argus downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $68.81.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 2,203,798 shares of company stock worth $156,970,121 over the last three months. Insiders own 23.00% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $66.52 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $67.05 and its 200 day moving average is $69.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.33. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $63.67 and a 12-month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 18.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

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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