76,334 Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Acquired by Dakota Wealth Management

Key Points

• Dakota Wealth Management acquired 76,334 shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation for approximately $5.6 million during the 2nd quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a net income of $1.05 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a total revenue of $3.1 billion for the quarter.
• W.R. Berkley recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, with a projected annual yield of 0.5%, highlighting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 76,334 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,608,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,022,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $357,368,000 after buying an additional 900,071 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4,198.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 777,201 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $55,306,000 after purchasing an additional 759,122 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 7,314.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 744,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,980,000 after purchasing an additional 734,474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8,709.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 671,893 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,812,000 after purchasing an additional 664,266 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,210,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $74.62 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.80 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $28.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $71.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.56.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.54.

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.

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