Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,147 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 563.2% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $44,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 173.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.67.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $57.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.47. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $61.28. The firm has a market cap of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

W. R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation, an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial lines writers worldwide. It operates in two segments, Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment underwrites commercial insurance business, including excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines.