Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,103,658 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,170 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.29% of W. R. Berkley worth $64,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 279.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
W. R. Berkley Stock Performance
Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded up $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $63.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,676,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,654,335. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $60.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.84. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.34%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six 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 price target of $64.36.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WRB
W. R. Berkley Profile
(
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider W. R. Berkley, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and W. R. Berkley wasn't on the list.
While W. R. Berkley currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Market downturns give many investors pause, and for good reason. Wondering how to offset this risk? Enter your email address to learn more about using beta to protect your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
