Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 34,954 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 16.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 171,834 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 34,954 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $11,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stance Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 376.1% in the third quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 38,013 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,630,000. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 105.4% in the 4th quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,082,000 after buying an additional 15,240 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 118,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,336,000 after buying an additional 18,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Argus lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $72.09 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. Analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.47%.

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.