IMC Chicago LLC Invests $1.02 Million in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

IMC Chicago LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,433 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 106.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded down $1.21 on Thursday, hitting $78.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 795,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,760. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.04. The company has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.60. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.38.

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.