Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Reduces Stake in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,274 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,331 shares during the period. W. R. Berkley comprises approximately 6.4% of Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. owned 0.17% of W. R. Berkley worth $30,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WRB. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 398 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of W. R. Berkley stock traded down $1.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $80.71. 1,670,525 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,189,662. The company has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $84.46 and a 200-day moving average of $75.57. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12 month low of $55.50 and a 12 month high of $89.18. 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 Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.10. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.22.

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.