Caprock Group LLC Boosts Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE WRB opened at $62.27 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $45.75 and a 52 week high of $62.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.