Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 6,661 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lessened its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 981,162 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,661 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley makes up about 1.7% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC owned approximately 0.26% of W. R. Berkley worth $57,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFS Partners LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

WRB traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,639,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,750. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus 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.