W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Position Increased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 70.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,140,349 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $193,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $68.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.87 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Barclays increased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Brean Capital lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $66.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $68.81.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.