Moran Wealth Management LLC Purchases 37,129 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 27.4%, buying 37,129 shares to hold 172,670 shares worth about $12.11 million at quarter-end.
• Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance bought 112,176 shares at $72.20 (~$8.10 million), lifting insider ownership to 23.3% while institutional investors own 68.82% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Reduce" with a $68.75 target; W.R. Berkley reported Q4 EPS of $1.13 (missing by $0.01) and yields about 0.5% annually.

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 37,129 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $12,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of WRB opened at $66.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.92. 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 company has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 5,478,946 shares of company stock valued at $378,572,238. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $68.75.

W.R. Berkley 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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