Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 125.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,878 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,934 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 261,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,976. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $67.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.83. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.17 and a fifty-two week high of $76.38. The stock has a market cap of $27.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WRB shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.39.

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.