Trexquant Investment LP Makes New Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 98,895 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,787,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.17. 590,704 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,794,627. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. 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 $63.46 and a 200-day moving average of $60.82. The stock has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.13.

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.