Alamar Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 30,575 W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Alamar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 30,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,026,000. W.R. Berkley comprises about 1.2% of Alamar Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted 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. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $72.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.87 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer set a $70.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.44.

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.