Mizuho Securities USA LLC Grows Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 46.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in 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. purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.99.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.