Eagle Asset Management Inc. Buys 7,782 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,782 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $63.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62. 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’s 50-day moving average is $58.85 and its 200 day moving average is $56.60. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $45.75 and a 1-year high of $63.46.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.