Mount Lucas Management LP Trims Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mount Lucas Management LP cut its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 40.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,497 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,006 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $4,801,000. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 50.0% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 60,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,446,000 after buying an additional 20,250 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 205.9% in the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,385,000 after acquiring an additional 46,125 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 92,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,252,000 after purchasing an additional 30,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WRB traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.74. 2,073,983 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,006,367. The business's 50-day moving average price is $58.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.18. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $45.75 and a 1 year high of $61.96. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

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.