W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Position Reduced by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 643 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFS Partners LLC raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $60.39 on Friday. 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 $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.98.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

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.