Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 156.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 279.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.
View Our Latest Analysis on WRB
W. R. Berkley Price Performance
Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $63.65. 1,676,287 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,335. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company has a market capitalization of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.84. 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 (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 0.50%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.
W. R. Berkley Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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