Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,750 shares during the quarter. W.R. Berkley comprises about 1.4% of Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.'s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 107.3% during the 4th 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 period. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 79.9% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.83. 2,235,809 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,795,330. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $51.41 and a one year high of $76.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm 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 19.66% and a net margin of 12.43%. On average, equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.