Madison Asset Management LLC Takes $105.64 Million Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management acquired 1.50 million W.R. Berkley shares worth approximately $105.6 million, making the insurer 1.3% of its portfolio and its 22nd-largest holding.
• Institutional investors own 68.82% of W.R. Berkley, with several major funds—including Norges Bank, UBS Asset Management and Invesco—also increasing or initiating positions.
• W.R. Berkley exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.27 in EPS and $3.72 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a cautious consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average $70.94 price target.

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,497,784 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $105,639,000. W.R. Berkley comprises 1.3% of Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.40% of W.R. Berkley at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $155,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213,679 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $95,040,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $374,886,000 after buying an additional 1,224,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WRB. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $77.00 price target (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Argus cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:WRB opened at $69.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $71.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

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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