W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,679 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 128.5% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $1,062,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,954 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $451,000. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $66,033,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $61.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.18. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $50.73 and a 52-week high of $65.49.

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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average 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.