Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Buys New Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,342 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 35,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,070,000 after purchasing an additional 16,495 shares in the last quarter. Aurelius Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $878,000. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,722,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $1,062,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $60.79 on Tuesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.52 and a 200 day moving average of $58.84. 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 has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.