Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 271,292 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 57,850 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.07% of W. R. Berkley worth $15,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $48,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.21.

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W. R. Berkley Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $69.38. The stock had a trading volume of 537,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,770,679. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.36. The stock has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG 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 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 issued 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Equities research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.