First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP boosted its W.R. Berkley stake by 10.5% in the first quarter, adding 377,742 shares and bringing its position to 3,972,929 shares worth about $263.3 million.
• W.R. Berkley posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.27 versus the $1.08 estimate and revenue of $3.72 billion versus $3.28 billion expected. Revenue rose 2.4% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 from $0.09, and analysts remain mixed on the stock with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.

First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,972,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 377,742 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.07% of W.R. Berkley worth $263,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after acquiring an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after acquiring an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,752,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $344,523,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $72.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Brean Capital cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $70.44.

W.R. Berkley Company 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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