HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 13,979 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 279.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 26,082 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,479,000 after purchasing an additional 8,808 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $1,071,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.31. 1,326,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,496. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $60.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

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.