Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Invests $24.19 Million in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 364,949 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,189,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 12.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.71 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $68.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.32. The company has a market cap of $25.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $62.87 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $58.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

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.