Procyon Advisors LLC Has $1.09 Million Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,672 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,116 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 335,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $291,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 8,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 4,944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $59.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day moving average of $58.48. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $48.69 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.74.

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.