W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments trimmed its stake in W.R. Berkley by 12.8% in Q3, selling 45,921 shares and leaving it with 313,705 shares valued at about $24.0 million (0.08% of the company).
• Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance bought 370,000 shares at $67.07, raising its holdings to 54,959,504 shares, and insiders collectively purchased about 9.93 million shares last quarter, now owning 23.30% of the stock.
• W.R. Berkley slightly missed quarterly EPS estimates ($1.13 vs. $1.14) with revenue in line, the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating and average target of $69.67, and pays a $0.36 annualized dividend (≈0.5% yield).

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 313,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 45,921 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of W.R. Berkley worth $24,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the first 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 period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after buying an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 20.9% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 18,181 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 20.0% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,208 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders bought 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108. Insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $68.73 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.10. The firm has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.35.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.67.

W.R. Berkley 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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