Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Purchases 2,600 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 121,650 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $7,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 40,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 22,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 95,968 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $573,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $63.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.43. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 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.