Tema Etfs LLC Invests $1.52 Million in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,519,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,715,583,000 after purchasing an additional 625,685 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $599,271,000 after buying an additional 289,172 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $534,438,000 after buying an additional 577,873 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $367,921,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 4.6% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,738,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $201,206,000 after acquiring an additional 121,045 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 275,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.95 per share, with a total value of $18,961,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 51,915,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,579,571,173.85. The trade was a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 3,108,875 shares of company stock worth $217,295,222. 23.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.53 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.87.

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.