Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys Shares of 9,658 W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,658 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. PFS Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.35 during trading on Monday, reaching $62.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 726,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,071. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began 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 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.