Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,384 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $2,330,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,801,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 2.2% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 12,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $59.29 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.48.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

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.