W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP reduced its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,297 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 16,496 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WRB traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,105,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,843. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.71. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $51.17 and a 52-week high of $76.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $27.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley's payout ratio is currently 7.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $68.39.

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.