Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Has $8.34 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,820 shares during the period. W.R. Berkley accounts for about 1.2% of Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $8,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in 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 period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $374,886,000 after buying an additional 1,224,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 21.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,711,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,350,000 after buying an additional 657,558 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $64.69 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.63 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.35. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company 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 18.17%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given 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 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Mizuho lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 112,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. This represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 8,648,939 shares of company stock valued at $598,055,212 in the last three months. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.