HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,222 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,417 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6 %
Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.38 on Friday, reaching $63.21. 4,177,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,657,789. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.99 and a 200 day moving average of $59.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.
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, beating 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%. 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 Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.34%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed 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 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.
Get Our Latest Report on WRB
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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