Illumine Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Illumine Investment Management LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 51,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,000. W. R. Berkley makes up approximately 2.5% of Illumine Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $62.13 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.39. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The firm has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

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.