Scotia Capital Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,733 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,751 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $68.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,145,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,128. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $64.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.28. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.