Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,546 W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi increased its position in W. R. Berkley by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,477,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,853,000 after buying an additional 444,986 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 49.0% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 12,830 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,701,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118,641 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 211.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 43,350 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 14,750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.2 %

WRB opened at $63.57 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.90. 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 fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Barclays boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, W. R. Berkley 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.