Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases 439,853 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 47.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,363,295 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 439,853 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.36% of W. R. Berkley worth $77,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,801,000. Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 205.9% in the second 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 period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,245,000. CHB Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,880,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,875,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $60.55. 940,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,035. The company has a market cap of $23.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.88 and a fifty-two week high of $61.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.85.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock 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 given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.