iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,647 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,785 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,647 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 711,741 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,651,000 after acquiring an additional 224,805 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,144 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,466,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 234.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 39,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 27,609 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,459 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 835,963 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,920,000 after buying an additional 60,534 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WRB traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $65.22. 1,339,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,227. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $65.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.99. The company has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a PEG 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, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WRB. Barclays upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.