W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Purchased by Maren Capital LLC

Maren Capital LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 52.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 973,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 333,132 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley makes up about 4.5% of Maren Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Maren Capital LLC owned about 0.26% of W. R. Berkley worth $55,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,321,958 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $642,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825,238 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,436,000 after buying an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,507,757 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $85,535,000 after purchasing an additional 846,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,031,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $115,263,000 after purchasing an additional 559,043 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $63.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 794,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,753,839. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.09. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $45.75 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) 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. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.22.

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.