Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $14.50 Million Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management trimmed its W.R. Berkley stake by 8.6%, selling 19,390 shares and ending the quarter with 206,788 shares worth about $14.50 million.
• Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance bought 345,000 shares at $70.65 (about $24.37 million), raising its holding to ~57.51 million shares; insiders have purchased 2.637 million shares in the past 90 days and now own 23.3% of the company.
• W.R. Berkley beat Q results (EPS $1.30 vs. $1.13 est.; revenue $3.69B vs. $3.18B), trades at a ~14.1 P/E with a ~$24.9B market cap, but analysts' consensus is a "Reduce" rating with an average price target of $68.81.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 19,390 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.05% of W.R. Berkley worth $14,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $722,000 after buying an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $24,374,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 57,508,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,062,942,884.70. This trade represents a 0.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 2,637,015 shares of company stock valued at $186,673,233. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $66.41 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $78.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.33.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped 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 note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.81.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.