Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,768,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,801 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.01% of W.R. Berkley worth $249,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $73.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.40.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WRB shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.44.

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.