Patton Fund Management Inc. Sells 61,963 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Patton Fund sold 61,963 shares of W.R. Berkley, cutting its stake by 95.2% to 3,093 shares worth about $217,000.
• Insiders are buying: Sumitomo acquired 112,176 shares at $72.20 and insiders have purchased 5,478,946 shares in the past three months, with insiders now owning 23.30% of the company.
• Analysts have grown cautious—MarketBeat's consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $68.75 average target after several price-target cuts and downgrades.

Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 95.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 61,963 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at $682,816,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,711,425 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $284,350,000 after purchasing an additional 657,558 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,879,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,617,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In related 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 purchased at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 5,478,946 shares of company stock valued at $378,572,238. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of WRB opened at $66.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.98. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $63.67 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $68.75.

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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