Boothbay Fund Management LLC Acquires New Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,830 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in 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 grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.55. 376,976 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,262. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $51.17 and a 1 year high of $76.38. The firm has a market cap of $27.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $67.32 and its 200 day moving average is $62.59.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its 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). W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.39.

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.