Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in W.R. Berkley by 29.2% in the first quarter, selling 789,472 shares and leaving it with 1,918,380 shares valued at about $127.2 million.
• W.R. Berkley posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $1.30 EPS versus the $1.13 consensus and revenue of $3.69 billion, while analysts now expect full-year EPS of 4.66.
• The stock has mixed Wall Street sentiment: the consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $69.94 target price, even as the company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,918,380 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 789,472 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of W.R. Berkley worth $127,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Brean Capital lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $69.94.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $69.91 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.47%.

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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