Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Grows Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 3,733.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 184,005 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $11,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 822 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $73.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.44. W. R. Berkley Co. has a one year low of $51.17 and a one year high of $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.07). W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.83%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WRB. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.39.

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.