Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC Invests $272,000 in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Key Points

• Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired 3,829 shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation valued at approximately $272,000 during the first quarter.
• W.R. Berkley has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.09 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.75.

Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,829 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the first quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,029 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 22,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,420 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,015,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.55 on Friday, hitting $70.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,282,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,271,839. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.80 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

W.R. Berkley 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.