Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Lowers Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank cut its stake in W.R. Berkley by 69.4% in Q4, selling 167,709 shares and leaving it with 74,074 shares valued at about $5.19 million.
• W.R. Berkley beat the quarter's estimates with $1.30 EPS vs. $1.13 expected and revenue of $3.69 billion vs. $3.18 billion, but the consensus analyst rating remains Hold with a $68.88 target.
• Significant insider buying occurred: Sumitomo Insurance purchased 112,176 shares at ~$72.20, insiders have bought 4,150,946 shares in the last 90 days and now own 23.3% of the company.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 69.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,074 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 167,709 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $5,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 172,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,108,000 after purchasing an additional 37,129 shares during the period. J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $781,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,121 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 10,893 shares during the period. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 24,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,309 shares during the period. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 23,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WRB. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.88.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of WRB opened at $66.48 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $67.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $63.67 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,150,946 shares of company stock worth $289,060,858. Insiders own 23.30% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Company 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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