Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley accounts for about 1.3% of Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 6,956 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 48.2% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 16,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 110.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 10,742 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 60,433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,427,000 after acquiring an additional 21,431 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research 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, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $61.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.35. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

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.