W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Lowered to $67.00 at Bank of America

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Bank of America from $68.00 to $67.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.72% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Evercore restated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Argus dropped their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $68.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $65.87. 495,233 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,230,360. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.12. The company has a market cap of $24.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $63.67 and a 12-month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,780,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,243,948,490. This trade represents a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,243,946 shares of company stock valued at $431,131,438. 23.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the first 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 during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.