W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Acquired by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 59,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WRB. PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $63.14 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.