Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $7.01 Million Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 7.3%, now owning a total of 98,435 shares valued at approximately $7.01 million.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.09, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.5% and a low payout ratio of 8.20%.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for W.R. Berkley, with UBS Group setting a target of $80, reflecting growing confidence in the stock's performance.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,435 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,783 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $7,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,949,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $172,609,000 after buying an additional 1,615,565 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 21.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,022,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $357,368,000 after acquiring an additional 900,071 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 7,314.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 744,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,980,000 after acquiring an additional 734,474 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8,709.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 671,893 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $47,812,000 after purchasing an additional 664,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the first quarter worth approximately $44,210,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.9%

WRB stock opened at $71.72 on Thursday. 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 $70.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.95. 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 $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Company 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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.