UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 455,311 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,487,097 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 455,311 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.65% of W. R. Berkley worth $145,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 79.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:WRB traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $74.15. 1,299,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,749. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $51.17 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. 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 50 day moving average price of $69.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.82.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.64.

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.