Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $12.11 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 172,670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,129 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $12,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $66.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.32 and a 200-day moving average of $70.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $63.67 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 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 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 company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 370,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. This trade represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 5,478,946 shares of company stock valued at $378,572,238 in the last ninety days. 23.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley 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.