Private Trust Co. NA Raises Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the second quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $64.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.73. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $45.75 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The firm has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.22.

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.