Schroder Investment Management Group Has $25.77 Million Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 42.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 440,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 131,059 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.12% of W. R. Berkley worth $25,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of W. R. Berkley 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 stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.21.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.7 %

WRB stock opened at $69.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $50.73 and a 52 week high of $76.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.43.

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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.34%.

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.