Dundas Partners LLP Raises Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Dundas Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 682,544 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 71,002 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley comprises approximately 4.2% of Dundas Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Dundas Partners LLP owned approximately 0.18% of W. R. Berkley worth $53,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 563.2% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $56.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.51. The stock has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $41.37 and a one year high of $61.28.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.12. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $103.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.70.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.