W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Stake Lowered by Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd decreased its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,372 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,193 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of WRB stock opened at $65.53 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $76.38.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WRB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.13.

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.