Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Has $1.55 Million Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 835,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,920,000 after purchasing an additional 60,534 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 156.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd now owns 23,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,381,000 after buying an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,103,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $64,586,000 after acquiring an additional 38,170 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $98,446,000. Finally, Impact Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $840,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $63.21 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.92.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

W. R. Berkley Company 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.