Heritage Family Offices LLP Acquires 2,775 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,233 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,775 shares during the quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 563.2% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $42,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $59.30 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.00 and its 200 day moving average is $55.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $41.82 and a 52-week high of $61.28. The firm has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lifted 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 note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.31.

W. R. Berkley 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.