Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 60,276 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,527,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,387,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,844,482. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.62. The company has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. 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 twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49.

Remove Ads

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 payout ratio is 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WRB. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.