Freedom Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6 %

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $68.85 on Monday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $76.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.54 and its 200-day moving average is $61.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. On average, equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.59.

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.