Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,911 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $72.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $69.33 and its 200 day moving average is $63.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $51.17 and a 12-month high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. On average, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.64.

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.