W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) Stock Holdings Lessened by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 75.5% during the first quarter, now owning 11,765 shares valued at approximately $837,000.
• A number of analysts have adjusted their price targets for W.R. Berkley, with Barclays raising it to $66.00 and Morgan Stanley to $75.00, while the average rating remains a "Hold" with a consensus target price of $71.75.
• W.R. Berkley recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.09, representing a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 8.20%.

Cumberland Partners Ltd reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 75.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,765 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 36,270 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 107.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $69.24 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $71.40 and its 200-day moving average is $67.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.65 and a 12-month high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 19.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

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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