Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 20,107 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,179 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,107 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.07% of W.R. Berkley worth $17,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 10,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 34,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,412,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $72.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.63.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.