Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Trims Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd reduced its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,372 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,193 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.13.

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W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

WRB traded up $0.64 on Friday, reaching $67.75. 583,573 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,797,736. The company has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.89. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. 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 quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

W. R. Berkley 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.