UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Acquires 52,594 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 2.1%, acquiring 52,594 additional shares, bringing its total to approximately 2.54 million shares worth about $180.7 million.
• W.R. Berkley announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, expected to be paid on September 30th, representing a 0.5% yield with a payout ratio of 8.20%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for W.R. Berkley, with UBS Group raising its target to $80, while others like Wells Fargo have lowered theirs to $68, highlighting a broad consensus of a "Hold" rating for the stock.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,539,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 52,594 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.67% of W.R. Berkley worth $180,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 148,880 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,712,000 after acquiring an additional 5,222 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,856 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,253 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 9,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 471.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 73,297 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 60,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $73.84 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $70.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.80. The company has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.80 and a 1 year high of $76.38.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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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