Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Has $5.05 Million Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley comprises approximately 1.6% of Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $5,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 12,830 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $732,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,837,000 after buying an additional 257,211 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 104.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,801,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.3 %

WRB stock opened at $59.57 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $48.69 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.48.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. W. R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.95 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.74.

About W. R. Berkley

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.