California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 270,746 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 502,561 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 270,746 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $33,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $435,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213,679 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 70.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $193,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140,349 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $72.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research lowered W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.44.

Key Headlines Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: WRB beat Q2 earnings expectations and posted better-than-expected revenue, suggesting solid underlying business momentum and stronger-than-anticipated underwriting results.
• Positive Sentiment: The quarter benefited from premium growth, higher investment income, and lower catastrophe losses, all of which are favorable for insurers’ profitability.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts turned more constructive after the report, with Truist raising its price target to $83 and maintaining a buy rating, while Mizuho also lifted its target to $74.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage noted that revenue missed certain Wall Street expectations in a separate headline, but the earnings beat and strong insurance fundamentals appear to be outweighing that concern.

About W.R. Berkley

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.