Coho Partners Ltd. Makes New $66.03 Million Investment in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,128,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,033,000. W. R. Berkley comprises 3.0% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Coho Partners Ltd. owned 0.30% of W. R. Berkley at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFS Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 108.1% during 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. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 45.6% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 843 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $61.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.49.

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, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders 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 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

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.