California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 22,145,374 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 7,152.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,454,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,145,374 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 6.05% of W.R. Berkley worth $1,583,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.96 and a 200-day moving average of $68.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WRB shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and set a $68.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research cut W.R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.

Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers' compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.

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