Madison Asset Management LLC Invests $105.64 Million in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,497,784 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $105,639,000. W.R. Berkley accounts for 1.3% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $3,542,919,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $435,752,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 2,213,679 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $95,040,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (up from $71.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $74.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.94.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.07 and its 200-day moving average is $68.90. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during 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%.W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

About W.R. Berkley

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.