Korea Investment CORP Sells 48,070 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,978 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 48,070 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of W. R. Berkley worth $12,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.21.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,245,999 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,256. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. 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 (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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 0.46%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

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.