UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 133,870 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its W.R. Berkley stake by 6.2%, selling 133,870 shares during the second quarter. It still held 2.04 million shares, representing 0.55% of the insurer and approximately $144 million in value.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce”, with three Buy, nine Hold, and six Sell ratings and an average price target of $70.94.
• Despite the cautious outlook, the company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in EPS versus a $1.08 estimate and $3.72 billion in revenue, up 2.4% year over year.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC decreased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,041,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 133,870 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.55% of W.R. Berkley worth $143,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $67.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

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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