Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $11.61 Million Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 55.1%, holding a total of 163,101 shares worth approximately $11.61 million at the end of the first quarter.
• W.R. Berkley's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.05, beating estimates, and the company recently announced a dividend increase to $0.09 per share.
• Analysts have varied opinions on W.R. Berkley's stock, with target prices ranging from $63.00 to $78.00 and an average rating of "Hold".

Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 55.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 163,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 200,003 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $11,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 32.7% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 23,253 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 5,726 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 116.5% during the 1st quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 16,706 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 8,990 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 123,268 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,772,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $5,031,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.64 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $71.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.20.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 12.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 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 Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.75.

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.

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