W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 34,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $60.79 on Tuesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $59.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.84. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, November 25th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.