Vinva Investment Management Ltd Has $572,000 Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,364 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock opened at $63.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. W. R. Berkley Co. has a twelve month low of $50.73 and a twelve month high of $65.49. The stock has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.99 and its 200 day moving average is $59.92.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on WRB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.