Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 6,661 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC reduced its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 981,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,661 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley comprises approximately 1.7% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $57,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 93,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 38,474 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 187.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 28,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 18,677 shares during the last quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 48,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6 %

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $60.89 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.17. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. On average, equities research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.33%.

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.