Entropy Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 87.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,495 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,830 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $732,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,472 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,837,000 after purchasing an additional 257,211 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WRB stock traded up $0.83 on Thursday, hitting $61.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,201,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,130. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.35 and a 200 day moving average of $58.97. The stock has a market cap of $23.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 7.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

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.