Trust Co. of Vermont Grows Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,479 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 563.2% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $61.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $41.82 and a 52 week high of $61.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.56.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 21.34%. W. R. Berkley’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.64.

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.