Capital Fund Management S.A. cut its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 29.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 127,921 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 53,568 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $272,582,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 55.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,366,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $417,897,000 after buying an additional 2,616,227 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $208,436,000 after buying an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,591,353 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $429,266,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $98,446,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.
W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6 %
NYSE:WRB traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,145,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,128. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.28. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year 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 results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (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%. Analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have issued reports on WRB. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.59.
Read Our Latest Analysis on W. R. Berkley
About W. R. Berkley
(
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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