BloombergSen Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

BloombergSen Inc. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 762,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 254,133 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley comprises 2.5% of BloombergSen Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. BloombergSen Inc. owned about 0.20% of W. R. Berkley worth $43,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the first quarter worth approximately $65,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB traded up $0.93 on Friday, reaching $60.55. 940,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,035. The company's 50-day moving average price is $58.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.88 and a fifty-two week high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. W. R. Berkley's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

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.