Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 122,181 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,257,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 122,181 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.33% of W.R. Berkley worth $96,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,715,583,000 after purchasing an additional 625,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $534,438,000 after purchasing an additional 577,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $29,617,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WRB. Bank of America dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 370,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.07 per share, for a total transaction of $24,815,900.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. This represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders purchased 7,632,068 shares of company stock valued at $524,335,948. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.1%

WRB opened at $70.48 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.07. The firm has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.55 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm 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 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

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.