KBC Group NV Has $6.32 Million Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 37,270 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $6,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493,758 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,333,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $75,645,000 after purchasing an additional 490,669 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,363,295 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,340,000 after purchasing an additional 439,853 shares in the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.1% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 987,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,039,000 after buying an additional 316,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkley W R Corp bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $60.74 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.46 and a 200-day moving average of $56.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $45.75 and a 12 month high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley 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.