W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Stake Raised by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,973 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,197,000 after purchasing an additional 27,539 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 55.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 33,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $60.89 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.17.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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, Barclays raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

About W. R. Berkley

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.