Advisory Services Network LLC Buys 19,900 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,900 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $67.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.46 and a 200-day moving average of $60.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered W. R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.13.

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.