Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. 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. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $63.65 on Thursday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.75 and its 200 day moving average is $59.87.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.18. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 20.83% and a net margin of 12.88%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

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.