Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 108,810 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $6,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,284,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 13,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 87.4% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 35,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,070,000 after buying an additional 16,495 shares during the period. Finally, Aurelius Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $878,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WRB opened at $60.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.17. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last released 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%. 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 company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 7.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.