IFM Investors Pty Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd trimmed its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 946 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 123.1% during the 4th quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE WRB traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.65. 1,435,377 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,438,617. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.57. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

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.