Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,373 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,023 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 279.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WRB
W. R. Berkley Price Performance
Shares of WRB traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $63.31. 1,326,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,344. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.82. The company has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.
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 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.34%.
About W. R. Berkley
(
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.
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