Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $15.63 Million Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 267,013 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 95,059 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.07% of W. R. Berkley worth $15,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Amundi boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $85,853,000 after acquiring an additional 444,986 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,830 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 72.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 98,248 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,574,000 after purchasing an additional 41,320 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 105.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 31,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,788,000 after buying an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.13.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE WRB traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $70.30. 2,311,054 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,244. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. On average, analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.34%.

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.