W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Bought by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Key Points

• Susquehanna Fundamental Investments nearly doubled its W.R. Berkley stake during the second quarter, acquiring 178,050 additional shares to own 358,749 shares valued at approximately $25.3 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 68.82% of WRB.
• W.R. Berkley exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 in earnings per share versus the $1.08 consensus estimate and $3.72 billion in revenue versus $3.28 billion expected. Revenue increased 2.4% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 from $0.09, equivalent to a $0.40 annualized payout and a 0.6% yield. Despite a range of analyst views, the stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating with an average price target of $70.94.

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 98.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 358,749 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 178,050 shares during the quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned approximately 0.10% of W.R. Berkley worth $25,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,801,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $1,630,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $65,233,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 634,244 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,991,000 after buying an additional 41,125 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2,864.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 550,428 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,447,000 after buying an additional 531,863 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.0%

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.45 on Monday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.87.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley 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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