Maridea Wealth Management LLC Invests $429,000 in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,336 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amundi boosted 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 buying an additional 444,986 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 12,830 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41,320 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 70.7% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15,664 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.73. 2,242,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,256. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The firm has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.21.

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.