Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 54,888 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,898,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213,679 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $105,639,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $95,040,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.44% and a net margin of 12.94%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley 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.