GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,410 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $10,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elm3 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,960,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 9,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 27,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE WRB opened at $60.82 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49. The company has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.33%.

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.