Entropy Technologies LP Invests $1.07 Million in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,071,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,190,000 after purchasing an additional 72,574 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the first quarter worth about $108,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,841 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,132 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $542,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

W. R. Berkley stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $59.65. 1,291,960 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,783,570. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.44 and a fifty-two week high of $61.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. W. R. Berkley's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 8.21%.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.