Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 32.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,378 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,853,000 after acquiring an additional 444,986 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $982,000. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $560,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,967 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.
W. R. Berkley Trading Up 2.0 %
NYSE:WRB traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,706,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,767,060. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.25. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $51.17 and a 1 year high of $76.38.
W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.07). W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. Research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.42%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $68.39.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on W. R. Berkley
W. R. Berkley Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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