Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Takes $24.19 Million Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 364,949 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $24,189,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned about 0.10% of W.R. Berkley as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.2%

WRB opened at $69.71 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $68.36 and its 200-day moving average is $68.32. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.47%.

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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