W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WRB. PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $61.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.25. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.33%.

W. R. Berkley 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.