Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Grows Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,701 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,435 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $4,801,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 205.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,385,000 after purchasing an additional 46,125 shares during the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,245,000. CHB Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,880,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 25.6% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $59.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $44.88 and a 52-week high of $61.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.82.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. 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 (DPR) is 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.