W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 100.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,620 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amundi increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,853,000 after acquiring an additional 444,986 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,830 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 43,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,750 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $63.21 on Monday. 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 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $60.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.91. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.