Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,296,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 270,150 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $85,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $72.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $69.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Argus downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, July 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.94.

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.