Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 14.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,439,361 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,161,417,000 after purchasing an additional 195,763 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,635,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,041,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,371,000 after acquiring an additional 39,594 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,933,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,749,000 after acquiring an additional 138,276 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 89.2% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,904,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,690,000 after acquiring an additional 898,027 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $58.34 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.38. The firm has a market cap of $22.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $41.37 and a 1 year high of $61.28.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $58.67 to $55.33 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.67 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.67.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.