National Pension Service Decreases Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 558,737 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 33,228 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of W. R. Berkley worth $32,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC grew 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WRB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. 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 for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $62.89. The stock had a trading volume of 490,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,740. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.