SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1,332.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 344,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 320,027 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.09% of W.R. Berkley worth $24,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 226,763 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,660,000 after acquiring an additional 109,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,847,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $135,770,000 after acquiring an additional 25,344 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $65.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $62.63 and a 52 week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted 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). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.07 per share, for a total transaction of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 8,648,939 shares of company stock worth $598,055,212. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

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.