W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Purchased by Maren Capital LLC

Key Points

• Maren Capital LLC increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 4.9%, owning 1,054,420 shares, which represents 5.1% of its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and Bank of America, have significantly increased their positions in W.R. Berkley, indicating high investor interest in the stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.09 per share, representing a 0.5% yield and demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Maren Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,054,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,225 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley accounts for about 5.1% of Maren Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Maren Capital LLC owned 0.28% of W.R. Berkley worth $75,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,022,039 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $357,368,000 after acquiring an additional 900,071 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,787,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $280,156,000 after buying an additional 632,578 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,279,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $191,927,000 after buying an additional 560,370 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,949,573 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $172,609,000 after buying an additional 1,615,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,487,097 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $145,545,000 after buying an additional 455,311 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted 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. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $72.0950 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.74. 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 twelve month low of $55.80 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

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.

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