Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 469,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,997 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.12% of W. R. Berkley worth $27,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 44.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,796 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 42.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 323,681 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,291,000 after buying an additional 96,292 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.6% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 24,032 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 7,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 68.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 116,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,624,000 after buying an additional 47,515 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.9 %

WRB stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $70.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 913,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,745. The company has a market cap of $26.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day moving average is $62.37 and its 200-day moving average is $60.43. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.