QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,629 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,704 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $8,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 12,830 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth $732,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,837,000 after buying an additional 257,211 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 104.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,118,641 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $208,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $62.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.39. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.