Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 19,648 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates cut its W.R. Berkley stake by 35.8% in the second quarter, selling 19,648 shares and retaining 35,193 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported quarterly EPS of $1.27, beating estimates of $1.08, while revenue reached $3.72 billion versus the $3.28 billion consensus estimate; revenue increased 2.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and a $70.94 price target. Shares recently opened at $69.43, while institutional investors collectively own 68.82% of the company.

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 35.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,193 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 19,648 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $69.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $71.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.80. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Evercore reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley 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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