Platform Technology Partners Cuts Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Platform Technology Partners decreased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,359 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,751 shares during the quarter. Platform Technology Partners’ holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 41.2% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,474,000 after purchasing an additional 22,754 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 114.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,739 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,687 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $61.51 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.68. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders 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%.

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.