Assetmark Inc. Acquires 8,212 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,620 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 8,212 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $5,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $62.95. 576,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,662,447. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. 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 one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.65.

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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 the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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 lowered W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. 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, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.