W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Stake Lifted by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 239,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $14,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $63.21 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.92. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

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.