Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,504 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of W. R. Berkley worth $14,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 34,679 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 25.8% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,903 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 129.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 953 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 11.7% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 6,292 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 10,450 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $663,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $79.31. 795,632 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,416,772. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.60 and a 200-day moving average of $77.73. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.60. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $55.50 and a 52 week high of $89.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $90.38.

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.