W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,222 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,417 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $63.31 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. The company has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.84.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.