SG Americas Securities LLC Has $6.19 Million Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 102.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,621 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $6,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WRB. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $47,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

W. R. Berkley stock opened at $57.51 on Friday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $60.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.67.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.74.

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.