Lincoln Capital LLC Buys New Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Lincoln Capital LLC acquired 5,236 shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation, valued at approximately $385,000, during the 2nd quarter of the year.
• W.R. Berkley reported $1.05 EPS for the last quarter, beating estimates, with a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 18.83%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 22nd, reflecting an annual yield of 0.5%.

Lincoln Capital LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,236 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 191.1% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 847 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $74.05. The company had a trading volume of 551,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,903,076. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.80 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $70.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $28.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 2.54 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Friday, June 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.