MML Investors Services LLC Has $2.21 Million Stock Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,830 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.7 %

WRB opened at $59.73 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.61. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $45.75 and a 1-year high of $65.49. The company has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.28.

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.