Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $94.36 Million Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,231,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,752 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley makes up about 1.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $94,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,334 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.1% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE WRB opened at $70.13 on Tuesday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.97 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 firm has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.56 and its 200-day moving average is $72.62.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued 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 is Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho set a $67.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 204,350 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.38 per share, with a total value of $14,177,803.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 48,805,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,386,155,978.44. This trade represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 610,350 shares of company stock valued at $42,548,323. 23.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key W.R. Berkley News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo/Mitsui bought roughly 204k shares (several trades Dec. 18–22) at ~$69–70 per share, spending about $42M and increasing its stake by ~0.4% — a vote of confidence from a large, strategic holder that likely helped push WRB higher today. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.5 million
• Neutral Sentiment: Company recently declared a small quarterly dividend ($0.09; $0.36 annualized, ~0.5% yield) with a Dec. 29 payment date — income-focused but not a material catalyst given the low yield. This is consistent with a capital-return policy that emphasizes buybacks/underwriting strength. W.R. Berkley stock — MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: consensus rating is essentially “Hold” with an average price target near $73.93 (several holds/neutral ratings and a range of targets). That tempers upside expectations despite insider buying and recent earnings beats. Analyst ratings and targets — MarketBeat

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.