Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $96.33 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,257,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 122,181 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $96,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after buying an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 625,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.6% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,617,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $70.48 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.55 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 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, for a total transaction of $24,815,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 54,959,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,133,933.28. This represents a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 7,632,068 shares of company stock worth $524,335,948. 23.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.