W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,676 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,876 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.07% of W.R. Berkley worth $17,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $35,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $68.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.87 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.60.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The company’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Brean Capital downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $68.44.

More W.R. Berkley News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Negative Sentiment: W.R. Berkley announced the passing of founder and Executive Chairman William R. Berkley, followed by a leadership transition update. While the company said it is moving forward with succession planning, the founder’s death may create some near-term uncertainty for investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company named Kirk A. Parker as president of Berkley North Pacific, signaling continued management action and a focus on operational execution and profitable growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive overall, with Zacks-related updates highlighting W.R. Berkley as a top momentum stock and raising some forward EPS estimates, which can support the bullish case for the insurance company. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analyst estimate revisions were mixed but modest, with small increases for some future periods and a slight reduction for FY2027, suggesting expectations are still generally stable rather than materially changing. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Separate coverage noted that W.R. Berkley raised its dividend by more than 11% and continues returning excess capital through dividends and buybacks, reinforcing shareholder-friendly capital allocation. Article Title

About W.R. Berkley

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.