Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 531,863 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its W.R. Berkley stake by 2,864.9% in Q4, buying 531,863 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 550,428 shares worth about $35.4 million.
• W.R. Berkley’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.13 estimate and revenue of $3.69 billion versus $3.18 billion expected.
• Shares rose 3.4% to $68.72, while analysts remain cautious overall with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.81.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 2,864.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 550,428 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 531,863 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.14% of W.R. Berkley worth $35,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.9% during 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 period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 133.5% during 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 period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,762,000. Stance Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 376.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 38,013 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 118,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,336,000 after acquiring an additional 18,820 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of WRB opened at $68.72 on Tuesday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $63.67 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.66 and a 200-day moving average of $69.60.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. W.R. Berkley's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 345,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,902,412 shares of company stock valued at $135,498,452. Corporate insiders own 23.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WRB. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Brean Capital lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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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