W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $545,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 130,047 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,610,000 after purchasing an additional 57,700 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 366.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 217,535 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,730,000 after purchasing an additional 170,888 shares in the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,005,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $58,824,000 after acquiring an additional 32,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,553,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $266,442,000 after acquiring an additional 231,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded down $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.79. 359,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,542. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.10. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $26.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.59.

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.