Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in W.R. Berkley, buying 39,946 shares worth about $2.8 million. The position now makes WRB its 12th-largest holding, or about 1.9% of the portfolio.
• W.R. Berkley reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, posting $1.30 per share versus the $1.13 consensus and revenue of $3.69 billion versus expectations of $3.18 billion. Revenue rose 1.3% year over year, and the company posted a net margin of 12.64% and ROE of 18.92%.
• Despite the earnings beat, Wall Street remains cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $68.81. Shares were trading around $66.38, near the lower end of their 1-year range.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 39,946 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,801,000. W.R. Berkley accounts for 1.9% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $66.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.67. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $63.67 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. W.R. Berkley's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 2,183,798 shares of company stock worth $155,530,321 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

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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