Wealth Quarterback LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Wealth Quarterback LLC lessened its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $60.39 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.84, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. On average, analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.