Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $3.53 Million in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,276 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,527,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.21. 4,174,015 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,660,703. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $60.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.90. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49.

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W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued 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 research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley began 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

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.