JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,093,271 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 273,153 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.86% of W. R. Berkley worth $415,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,853,000 after purchasing an additional 444,986 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,214,000 after buying an additional 12,830 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $208,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,248 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,574,000 after acquiring an additional 41,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.7% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15,664 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.
W. R. Berkley Trading Down 1.1 %
NYSE:WRB traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,207,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,665. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $76.38.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.21.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on W. R. Berkley
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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