Hutchinson Capital Management CA Has $14.31 Million Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Hutchinson Capital Management CA trimmed its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 244,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 819 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley accounts for approximately 2.7% of Hutchinson Capital Management CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hutchinson Capital Management CA’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $14,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $63.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G 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 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.78.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.