ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Increases Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 47.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,207 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $4,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $65.53 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $62.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.13.

About W. R. Berkley

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.