Greenleaf Trust Increases Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 50.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,578 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,533 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 173.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.9 %

WRB stock opened at $58.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $43.20 and a one year high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 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 issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.