W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Stock Holdings Raised by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation to become its 4th largest position, owning approximately 11.8 million shares valued at $838.8 million.
• W.R. Berkley recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05, beating estimates, with a total revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.09, up from $0.08, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,787,639 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 65,163 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley comprises approximately 2.1% of Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.11% of W.R. Berkley worth $838,808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICONIQ Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $222,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 123.5% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 51,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,661,000 after acquiring an additional 28,434 shares in the last quarter. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth $240,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth $93,000. Finally, Maren Capital LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the first quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,054,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,033,000 after acquiring an additional 49,225 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6%

WRB stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,260,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,011. 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 moving average of $70.52 and a 200 day moving average of $68.95. The company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley 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.