Boston Partners Sells 505 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Boston Partners decreased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $63.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.99 and a 200 day moving average of $59.92. The company has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” 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 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.