Chilton Investment Co. Inc. Purchases 25,931 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Chilton Investment Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,657,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,931 shares during the period. W.R. Berkley makes up 2.6% of Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Chilton Investment Co. Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $126,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.0%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.50 and its 200-day moving average is $72.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.35. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $61.97 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued 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 net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Insider Activity at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 370,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.07 per share, for a total transaction of $24,815,900.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,933,862 shares of company stock worth $688,134,108. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America lowered their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

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.