W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Holdings Raised by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 546.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $6,138,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 681,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,860,000 after acquiring an additional 118,020 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 28,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 8,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 4,061 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 17,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $63.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.99 and a 200-day moving average of $59.92. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49.

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 return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.