Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Increases Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Rockefeller Capital Management increased its W.R. Berkley stake by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 282,266 shares valued at about $19.8 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.30 versus the $1.13 consensus and revenue of $3.69 billion versus the $3.18 billion estimate.
• 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.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 282,266 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,999 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of W.R. Berkley worth $19,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.81 and a 200 day moving average of $68.07. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Brean Capital cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Argus lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $68.31.

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.

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