Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its W.R. Berkley stake by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 42,821 shares and leaving it with 66,587 shares worth about $4.67 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.13 consensus and revenue of $3.69 billion, above estimates of $3.18 billion.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" with an average target price of $68.81, though some firms recently adjusted targets and ratings.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,587 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 42,821 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $4,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 112,176 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 1,111,830 shares of company stock worth $79,622,596. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $67.45 on Friday. 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 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.53.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. W.R. Berkley's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price 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.

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