National Pension Service Sells 475,281 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• National Pension Service sharply reduced its W.R. Berkley stake by 79.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 475,281 shares and leaving it with 125,241 shares valued at about $8.78 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 versus $1.13 expected and revenue of $3.69 billion versus $3.18 billion estimated.
• Despite the earnings beat, analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.81, while shares recently traded near $63.48, close to their 1-year low.

National Pension Service trimmed its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 79.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,241 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 475,281 shares during the period. National Pension Service's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $8,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.20 per share, for a total transaction of $8,099,107.20. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 23.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Argus lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $68.81.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $63.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.35 and a 200 day moving average of $69.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $63.35 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. W.R. Berkley's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About W.R. Berkley

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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