Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Has $11.06 Million Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 3,733.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,934 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 184,005 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $11,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,773,732 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,799,000 after buying an additional 96,769 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 106,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,294 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $718,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 75,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 5,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 79,614 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,659,000 after purchasing an additional 48,104 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded down $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $73.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,257,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,762,548. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $51.17 and a twelve month high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.06.

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.