W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Cadent Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Cadent Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 9,384 shares worth approximately $689,000.
• W.R. Berkley's stock experienced a marginal decline of 0.3% and has a market cap of $28.30 billion, with a current price of $74.62.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54, while several brokerages recently adjusted their ratings and price objectives.

Cadent Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,384 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,526 shares during the period. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 847 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WRB. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.3%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $74.62 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.56. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $55.80 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $28.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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