W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Stake Boosted by Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 123.5%, owning a total of 51,453 shares, valued at approximately $3.66 million.
• W.R. Berkley's quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.05, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.03, while revenue matched estimates at $3.10 billion.
• The company recently increased its dividend to $0.09 per share, up from $0.08, marking a modest annual yield of 0.5% with a payout ratio of 8.20%.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 123.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,434 shares during the quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $3,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% in the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 19.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,013 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

W.R. Berkley stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,854,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,834,690. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.80 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.93.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54.

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.