Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 29,432 W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 29,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,722,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $61.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.67. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.49. 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’s 50-day moving average is $59.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of 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 reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley presently has a consensus 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.