California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,375 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,760 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of W.R. Berkley worth $22,454,989 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 34,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,412,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,419 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 3.5% during the first quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.1%

WRB traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $70.95. 1,153,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,152,877. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.75. The company has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.44%. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.94.

About W.R. Berkley

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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