Swiss National Bank Lowers Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 860,062 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 51,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.23% of W. R. Berkley worth $50,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,121,001 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $857,814,000 after purchasing an additional 4,947,830 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,321,958 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $642,294,000 after purchasing an additional 3,825,238 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,591,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $429,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,073 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,366,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $417,897,000 after buying an additional 2,616,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $235,701,000 after buying an additional 2,118,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4 %

WRB stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,676,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,806,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.64 and a 200 day moving average of $59.84. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

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.