Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. PFS Partners LLC raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE WRB opened at $63.14 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day moving average is $59.45. 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 has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a PEG 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.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.