W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Shares Bought by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank grew its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 8,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of 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. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.43. The firm has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its 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%. Equities analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WRB. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.