Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 60,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,527,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 1.5 %

WRB stock opened at $64.17 on Tuesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $50.73 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.