Nuveen LLC Purchases New Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 621,273 shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation, worth approximately $44.2 million, making it a notable institutional investor with about 0.16% ownership.
• W.R. Berkley reported an EPS of $1.05 for the previous quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, and anticipates posting earnings of 4.33 for the current fiscal year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.09, reflecting a 0.5% yield and marking a rise from the previous dividend of $0.08.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 621,273 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $44,210,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.16% of W.R. Berkley at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,015,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $70.75 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.80 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.31. 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 company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G 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 return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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