Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 682.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,791 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

WRB opened at $71.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $60.20 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be 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 is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 370,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 8,822,032 shares of company stock valued at $608,511,512 in the last quarter. 23.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.