W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Bought by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $11,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 563.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 173.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $57.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $56.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $41.37 and a 52 week high of $61.28.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.