Boston Financial Mangement LLC Sells 6,661 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Boston Financial Mangement LLC decreased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 981,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,661 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley accounts for about 1.7% of Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Boston Financial Mangement LLC owned 0.26% of W. R. Berkley worth $57,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB stock opened at $60.89 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.17. The stock 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 (DPR) is currently 7.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.