Aigen Investment Management LP Acquires New Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $623,000.

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

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.38 on Monday, reaching $62.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,407,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,834,763. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.98 and a 200 day moving average of $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. The stock has a market cap of $23.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49.

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W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.