Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Raises Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,632 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 22.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 753,191 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,729,000 after acquiring an additional 140,396 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $233,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 161.1% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 236,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,408,000 after purchasing an additional 145,836 shares during the last quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 50.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stansberry Asset Management LLC now owns 412,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,385,000 after buying an additional 137,952 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 48.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,121,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $857,814,000 after buying an additional 4,947,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $61.29 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $45.75 and a 52-week high of $65.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $60.27 and a 200 day moving average of $57.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.65.

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

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.28.

W. R. Berkley 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.