Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $3.66 Million Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. decreased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 57.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 84,506 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,801,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 103.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,093 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,242 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 22,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 41.2% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,606 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.44. 1,462,183 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,153,887. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.67. 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 issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.33%.

About W. R. Berkley

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.