Xponance Inc. Sells 1,505 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Xponance Inc. decreased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,505 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EULAV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 945,260 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,015,000 after buying an additional 39,716 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $8,970,000. NatWest Group plc bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $8,791,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 53,112 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,126,000 after purchasing an additional 12,140 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 185,251 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,101,000 after purchasing an additional 19,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.88.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $79.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.55 and a 200-day moving average of $76.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.70%.

W. R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.