Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 6,609 W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.85. 2,145,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,803,719. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $64.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.59.

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.