Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $1.06 Million in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,141 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Creative Planning lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 59.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,973 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,197,000 after buying an additional 27,539 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 52.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 33,222 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 11,453 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 55.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 58.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,333,418 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,645,000 after purchasing an additional 490,669 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,639,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,750. The firm has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.21 and a 200-day moving average of $59.18. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WRB. Barclays upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.