Groupama Asset Managment Invests $558,000 in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Groupama Asset Management invested approximately $558,000 in W.R. Berkley Corporation by purchasing 7,834 shares during the first quarter.
• W.R. Berkley reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, exceeding expectations, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.09.
• As of now, 68.82% of W.R. Berkley’s stock is held by institutional investors, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,834 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $72.5950 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. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.80 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $70.66 and its 200 day moving average is $68.57. The company has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 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 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 firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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