Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Lowers Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,239 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,637 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Amundi raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,853,000 after purchasing an additional 444,986 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $208,436,000 after buying an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $982,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $560,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $73.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50-day moving average is $67.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.51. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $51.17 and a 12 month high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). The business 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%. Analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is 7.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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