Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $35.22 Million Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB – Get Rating) by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 544,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 214,102 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.21% of W. R. Berkley worth $35,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 409.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Cedar Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.66% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6 %

WRB opened at $70.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.77 and a fifty-two week high of $79.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.20 and its 200 day moving average is $69.19.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.44 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 17.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 12th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.61.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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W.R. Berkley Corp. is an insurance holding company, which engages in the property casualty insurance business. It operates through the following segments: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. The Insurance segment includes excess and surplus lines, admitted lines, and specialty personal lines throughout the United States, as well as insurance businesses in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, South America, Canada, Mexico, Scandinavia, Asia, and Australia.