Allworth Financial LP Purchases 2,562 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Allworth Financial LP increased its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 128.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of 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 shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB opened at $61.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.18. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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 $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays increased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Profile

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.