Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Cuts Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 87,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 40,605 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $5,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $63.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.38 and a 200-day moving average of $59.78. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. 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 $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.