Zacks Investment Management Acquires Shares of 334,079 W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 334,079 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,952,000. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.09% of W. R. Berkley as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $62.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,467,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,862. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $45.75 and a 52 week high of $65.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.