Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its holding by 0.8% to 37,033,581 shares, representing roughly 9.75% of W.R. Berkley and worth about $2.60 billion.
• W.R. Berkley beat Q expectations with $1.30 EPS (vs. $1.13 est.) and revenue of $3.69 billion (vs. $3.18B est.), reporting an 18.99% ROE and a 12.64% net margin.
• Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance purchased 345,000 shares (~$24.4M); insiders now own 23% and institutions 68.82% of the stock, while analysts show a consensus "Reduce" rating and an average price target of $68.81.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 309,828 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.75% of W.R. Berkley worth $2,596,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 345,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $24,374,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,508,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,062,942,884.70. The trade was a 0.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders bought 3,122,015 shares of company stock valued at $219,761,133 in the last quarter. 23.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.81.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $67.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.81 and its 200 day moving average is $70.33. The stock has a market cap of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

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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