W. R. Berkley Stock to Split on Wednesday, July 10th (NYSE:WRB)

W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)’s stock is set to split on Wednesday, July 10th. The 3-2 split was announced on Wednesday, June 12th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Tuesday, July 9th.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $79.38 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.64. W. R. Berkley has a 1 year low of $57.42 and a 1 year high of $89.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from W. R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 24th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W. R. Berkley

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.