iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 9,497 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 56.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,497 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $732,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 53.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,837,000 after purchasing an additional 257,211 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,801,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 92,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,252,000 after buying an additional 30,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 104.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,154,783 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $235,701,000 after buying an additional 2,118,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.0 %

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $62.95 on Monday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $45.75 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.28.

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.