Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,451 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,150 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley accounts for about 1.3% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 83.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,180,413 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $92,757,000 after buying an additional 535,471 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,333,418 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $75,645,000 after acquiring an additional 490,669 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.1% in the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 987,823 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,039,000 after acquiring an additional 316,269 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 190.4% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 477,774 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,254,000 after buying an additional 313,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkley W R Corp purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $21,138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.21. 994,301 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,800,479. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $44.88 and a 1 year high of $61.96.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley 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.