148,500 Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Acquired by Buckland Partners Management Co LLC

Key Points

• Buckland Partners Management acquired 148,500 W.R. Berkley shares worth approximately $10.6 million, making the insurer its third-largest portfolio holding at 5.2%. Institutional investors collectively own 68.82% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.94, with ratings split among Buy, Hold, and Sell recommendations.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in EPS and $3.72 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 2.4% year over year. W.R. Berkley also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share, implying a 0.6% yield.

Buckland Partners Management Co LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 148,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,563,000. W.R. Berkley accounts for 5.2% of Buckland Partners Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $69.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.88. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

About W.R. Berkley

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.

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