W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Stock Sold by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super cut its W.R. Berkley stake by 66.3% in the third quarter, selling 136,896 shares and retaining 69,701 shares valued at $4.7 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported quarterly EPS of $1.17, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue of $3.74 billion fell short of forecasts and declined 0.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Reduce,” with an average price target of $70.56; the stock was trading at $75.09 in the article.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super lowered its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 69,701 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 136,896 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $4,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 526,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $3,865,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,828,000. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 14.0% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 27,390 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,850,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.6% during the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,552 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.1%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $75.09 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.31. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $27.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.23.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 19th. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Bank of America cut W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $70.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.56.

About W.R. Berkley

W.R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of specialized insurance businesses. The company primarily provides commercial property and casualty insurance, serving businesses, organizations and other commercial customers with coverage tailored to specific industries and risks.

Its products and services include workers' compensation, commercial automobile, property, general liability, professional liability, directors and officers liability, excess and surplus lines, and other specialty insurance products.

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