18,141 Shares in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Purchased by Strategic Financial Concepts LLC

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,141 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd 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. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $60.55 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.12.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average 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.