Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $41.65 Million Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 711,741 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 224,805 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.19% of W. R. Berkley worth $41,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,377,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,654,774. 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 stock has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $61.12 and its 200 day moving average is $59.95. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.