Illumine Investment Management LLC Makes New $3.01 Million Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Illumine Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 51,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,000. W. R. Berkley comprises about 2.5% of Illumine Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

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

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $62.13 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week 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 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 50-day moving average price of $59.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.39.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. Analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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 upgraded 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. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.