Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $3.18 Million Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,898 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $3,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 106.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in W. R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $78.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.60. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. W. R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.