Natixis Increases Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Natixis lifted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 1,722.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 173,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 164,103 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $10,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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 W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.64.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.47. 1,814,722 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,772,830. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.50 and its 200 day moving average is $61.81. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $76.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.42%.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.