Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. has increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 39.6% during the first quarter, bringing its total to approximately $9.80 million.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their stakes in W.R. Berkley, with 68.82% of the stock now owned by such investors.
• W.R. Berkley's recent quarterly earnings beat analyst estimates, reporting $1.05 earnings per share and a net margin of 12.32%.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 39.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 137,668 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 39,048 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $9,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,015,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at $227,000. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $475,000. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.58 on Thursday, reaching $69.49. 461,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,928,311. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.55 and a 200-day moving average of $67.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $53.65 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

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.