Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 352,825 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 44.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,151,883 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 352,825 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.45% of W. R. Berkley worth $81,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 11.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 71,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,547,000 after buying an additional 7,378 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 2.1% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,577 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $313,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 9.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 769,023 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,825,000 after buying an additional 64,994 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 6.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 54,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,487,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock traded up $1.27 on Thursday, reaching $79.05. 1,358,710 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,271,364. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.81 and a 200-day moving average of $76.71. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $55.50 and a twelve month high of $89.18. The firm has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 12.23%. W. R. Berkley's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.63.

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.