Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 2,129.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,196 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,380 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley makes up about 0.6% of Bayforest Capital Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of W.R. Berkley to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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 Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.54.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,496,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,891,286. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.41. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.80 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.49 and a 200 day moving average of $69.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 12.32%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.
About W.R. Berkley
(
Free Report)
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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