KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 104,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,138,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.99. 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 $24.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.36.

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.