New York State Teachers Retirement System Buys 93,017 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 48.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,597 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 93,017 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of W. R. Berkley worth $16,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WRB traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.50. 1,317,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,806,401. The company has a market cap of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $44.67 and a 12-month high of $61.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.69.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The company's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.08.

About W. R. Berkley

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.