ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 298,363 W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• ExodusPoint Capital Management disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in W.R. Berkley, buying 298,363 shares valued at about $20.9 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.13 estimate and revenue of $3.69 billion, topping expectations.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share from $0.09, while analysts currently have a mixed view with an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $68.31.

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 298,363 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,921,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.08% of W.R. Berkley at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.30 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $25.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.32.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Profile

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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