Prudential PLC Lowers Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 12.6% in the first quarter, holding 49,297 shares valued at approximately $3.51 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported $1.05 in earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.03.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, marking an increase from the prior dividend of $0.08.

Prudential PLC reduced its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,297 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,121 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $3,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,949,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $172,609,000 after buying an additional 1,615,565 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,022,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $357,368,000 after purchasing an additional 900,071 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 7,314.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 744,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $52,980,000 after acquiring an additional 734,474 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8,709.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 671,893 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,812,000 after buying an additional 664,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,787,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $280,156,000 after purchasing an additional 632,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE WRB traded down $0.81 on Friday, hitting $70.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,939,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,673. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.70 and its 200 day moving average is $68.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $55.80 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The firm has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 18.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.54.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.