Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 46.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,037 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in W. R. Berkley by 44.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 36,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,091,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 28.0% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 99.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,733 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 5,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in W. R. Berkley by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,746,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,055,000 after purchasing an additional 42,834 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:WRB opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.49. 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 50-day moving average price of $61.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.99. The stock has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63.

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

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WRB shares. Barclays raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.