Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 524 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $63.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.63. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.75 and a 200-day moving average of $59.87.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 research analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of W. R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.