Greenline Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Greenline Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation during the first quarter, purchasing 19,319 shares valued at approximately $1,375,000.
• W.R. Berkley recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.09 per share, representing an annualized payout of $0.36 and a yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have given W.R. Berkley a consensus rating of "Hold," with a price target averaging around $72.54, indicating mixed sentiments among equities research analysts.

Greenline Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 19,319 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,654,000 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 Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $72.26 on Thursday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.32. The stock has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.41. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.80 and a 52-week high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays boosted 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, TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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