Parnassus Investments LLC Acquires 350,145 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 44.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,134,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 350,145 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.30% of W. R. Berkley worth $64,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $439,000. BIP Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.4% in the third quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 4,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 88.1% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 6,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 57.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,379 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.1 %

WRB stock opened at $60.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.21. The company has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.75 and a fifty-two week high of $61.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.93 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.