Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 257,211 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 53.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 737,472 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 257,211 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of W. R. Berkley worth $41,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock traded up $1.09 on Friday, reaching $60.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,073,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,787,000. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $45.75 and a 12-month high of $61.96. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $58.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.62.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley 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.