Wellington Management Group LLP Has $30.37 Million Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,022 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 234,169 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.14% of W. R. Berkley worth $30,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered W. R. Berkley from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.59.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.53. 2,574,963 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,805,574. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The stock has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $63.78 and its 200 day moving average is $60.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

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.