W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Position Cut by Walleye Capital LLC

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 82.3% in the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 5,794 valued at approximately $412,000.
• W.R. Berkley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.09 per share, up from $0.08, with a current yield of 0.5%.
• Brokerages have adjusted their price targets for W.R. Berkley, with current estimates ranging from $66.00 to $80.00 per share, reflecting various ratings from "Strong Buy" to "Underweight."

Walleye Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 82.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 26,985 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $71.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.80 and a 1 year high of $76.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.30. The firm has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.41.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WRB. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Company 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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