Ieq Capital LLC Has $1.68 Million Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 187.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,677 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 33,097 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 50.7% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 48.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 6,956 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,940,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 1.0 %

WRB opened at $61.01 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. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated 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 target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.