Virtu Financial LLC Raises Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,061 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.99. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

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.