OP Asset Management Ltd Invests $2.04 Million in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 30,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position in W.R. Berkley by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $71.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $62.87 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.12.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $64.00 to $58.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Profile

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.