Nilsine Partners LLC Sells 4,017 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Nilsine Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 63.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,340 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,017 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Glassman Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.63.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.97. 1,621,061 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,839. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The stock has a market cap of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.06 and its 200 day moving average is $76.68.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.80%.

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.