W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by Citizens National Bank Trust Department

Citizens National Bank Trust Department trimmed its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,311 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,958 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. CHB Investment Group LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.3% in the first quarter. CHB Investment Group LLC now owns 50,557 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,598,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,842 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $72.27 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $72.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $51.41 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $27.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.42.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 19.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.42.

W.R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.

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