W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 97.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,220 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $31,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 5.5% in the second quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 6,449 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Hutchinson Capital Management CA purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $9,772,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 34.1% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 53,429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 13,580 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 0.3% in the second quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 94,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. 66.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $69.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.59. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $76.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.17. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 11.45%. The company had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 22nd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

W. R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writer in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including premises operations, commercial automobile, property, products liability, and general and professional liability lines.