IMC Chicago LLC Takes $1.02 Million Position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

IMC Chicago LLC purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,433 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,021,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 106.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.8 %

WRB traded down $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $79.42. 46,058 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,927. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.24 and its 200 day moving average is $78.04. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.82 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.38.

About W. R. Berkley

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.