W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 5.9%, selling 9,320 shares and leaving it with 148,472 shares valued at approximately $10.57 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have adjusted their positions, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its holdings by 75.6% and several others establishing new positions worth millions.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, up from the previous $0.08, representing a 0.5% dividend yield.

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,472 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,320 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $10,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $1,637,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 11,787,639 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $838,808,000 after purchasing an additional 65,163 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 123.5% in the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 51,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,661,000 after purchasing an additional 28,434 shares during the period. Finally, AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth about $240,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.7%

W.R. Berkley stock traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.75. 1,383,915 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,740,099. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.15. The company has a market cap of $27.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.80 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Profile

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.