National Pension Service Buys 23,122 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

National Pension Service increased its stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,122 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $3,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 44.7% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.28. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Profile

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is an insurance holding company that operates through a group of property and casualty insurance businesses. The company provides commercial insurance and reinsurance products for businesses, organizations and other insurance companies, with an emphasis on specialty and complex risks.

Its offerings include commercial property and casualty coverage, excess and surplus lines, professional liability, workers’ compensation, commercial automobile insurance, marine insurance and other specialty products.