Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 109.7% in the second quarter, owning a total of 51,686 shares worth $3.69 million.
• W.R. Berkley reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations by $0.02, while revenues matched estimates at $3.10 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $0.36 and a yield of 0.5%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,686 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,042 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $3,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 562.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 24,025 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 20,400 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $14,057,000. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 641.7% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,654 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $75.94 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $71.41 and its 200-day moving average is $70.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $28.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.41. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.80 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be issued a $0.09 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. TD Cowen downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a research note 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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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