Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $2.31 Million Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 234.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,405 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,609 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,459 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,548,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 835,963 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,920,000 after acquiring an additional 60,534 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 156.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 23,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 14,400 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,103,658 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $64,586,000 after purchasing an additional 38,170 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $98,446,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.73. 2,246,003 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,777,020. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $62.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.43. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.21.

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.