Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 57.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 12,078 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $66.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $61.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.07. The firm has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus 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.