Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Grows Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $4,801,000. Prudential PLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 205.9% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 68,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,385,000 after buying an additional 46,125 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $3,245,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 25.6% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,875,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 47.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 174,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,716,000 after purchasing an additional 55,942 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $59.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $41.82 and a 12-month high of $61.28.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.84 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.67 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.89.

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.