W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 662.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,782 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 103,207 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $6,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.8 %

WRB traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.74. 2,073,983 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,006,367. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.18. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $45.75 and a 52-week high of $61.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

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.