3,921 Shares in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Bought by EntryPoint Capital LLC

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,921 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 7.4 %

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $71.21 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.70 and its 200 day moving average is $60.15. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. On average, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley assumed 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.