Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,112 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 8,403 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,571 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 108,810 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $3,284,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W. R. Berkley Price Performance
NYSE:WRB traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.01. 1,639,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,917,750. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $59.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.18.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.33%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on W. R. Berkley
About W. R. Berkley
(
Free Report)
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.
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