Truist Financial Corp Raises Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Truist Financial Corp increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,469,331 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 193,640 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.39% of W. R. Berkley worth $85,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 worth $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WRB stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.01. 1,639,493 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,917,750. The company's 50-day moving average price is $59.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.18. The company has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.33%.

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.