Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 15,200 W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the first quarter, purchasing 15,200 shares worth about $1.007 million.
• W.R. Berkley recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.30 versus estimates of $1.13 and revenue of $3.69 billion versus expectations of $3.18 billion.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share from $0.09, while analysts remain cautious overall with an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.31.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 15,200 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,007,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $721,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Brean Capital lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $72.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company's 50 day moving average price is $67.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.47%.

W.R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company's product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.

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