Pinebridge Investments LLC Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Pinebridge Investments LLC opened a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter, buying 16,083 shares valued at about $1.13 million.
• Other institutional investors also increased their stakes, and about 68.82% of W.R. Berkley’s stock is now held by institutions and hedge funds.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its dividend to $0.10 per share quarterly, though Wall Street’s overall consensus remains “Reduce” with an average price target of $68.44.

Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,083 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,128,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after purchasing an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Brean Capital lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $68.44.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $66.76 on Tuesday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.73. The firm has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.30. 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 (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

W.R. Berkley Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WRB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.