Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $58.82 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 60.1%, owning 826,616 shares valued at approximately $58.8 million after purchasing an additional 310,313 shares in the first quarter.
• W.R. Berkley recently reported earnings of $1.05 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.03, with revenues matching expectations at $3.1 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.08, and has a current dividend yield of 0.5% with a payout ratio of 8.20%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 60.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 826,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 310,313 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.22% of W.R. Berkley worth $58,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Keystone Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.31. 1,436,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,897,126. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.80 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.37 and a 200 day moving average of $69.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.41.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Company 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.