W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB is NatWest Group plc's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation by 131.8% during Q1, making it the second largest position in NatWest's holdings.
• W.R. Berkley reported a quarterly EPS of $1.05, exceeding expectations, with revenue matching forecasts at $3.10 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.08 to $0.09 per share, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

NatWest Group plc grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 131.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,393 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 132,130 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley accounts for approximately 4.9% of NatWest Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. NatWest Group plc owned about 0.06% of W.R. Berkley worth $16,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,242,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,569,310. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50-day moving average is $70.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.41. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.80 and a 52 week high of $76.38.

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

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target 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 target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Wall Street Zen cut W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.