Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,400 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $69.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.07. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $62.87 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded W.R. Berkley from an “overweight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised W.R. Berkley from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $68.31.

W.R. Berkley Profile

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.