Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, owning 534,465 shares worth approximately $38 million.
• The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.02, with revenues of $3.10 billion.
• W.R. Berkley has recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.08 to $0.09, representing a 0.5% yield, with a payout ratio of 8.20%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 534,465 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 63,220 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of W.R. Berkley worth $38,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.75. 3,939,336 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,152,673. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $55.80 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.