Forte Capital LLC ADV Raises Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,275 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,332 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $796,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 93,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 38,474 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 187.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 28,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 48,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $60.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.18. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average 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.