156,779 Shares in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) Acquired by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 156,779 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $88,940,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 4,915 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 50,637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,478,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 39,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $58.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.20 and a fifty-two week high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 12.05%. W. R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.08.

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.