W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRBFree Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,336,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 26,869 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $78,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $62,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $58.00. 173,811 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,731,382. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $47.59 and a 52-week high of $65.49. 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 50-day simple moving average of $60.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.10. The company has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRBGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock 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 issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.28.

Read Our Latest Analysis on WRB

W. R. Berkley Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB)

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