Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,754 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,092 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $9,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.1 %

WRB stock traded down $0.76 on Wednesday, reaching $69.49. 1,107,695 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,772,993. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.36. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.21.

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.