Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,137 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of W. R. Berkley worth $11,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 44.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 116,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,624,000 after purchasing an additional 47,515 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 59.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,859 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 3,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $410,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE WRB opened at $71.18 on Tuesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $76.38. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.28.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WRB shares. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. One investment 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, the company has an average 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.