Forte Capital LLC ADV Boosts Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 50.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,870 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted 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 in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 132.6% during 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 purchased a new stake in W. R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Trading Down 0.6 %

WRB stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.56. 1,259,903 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,555,009. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.88. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 52-week low of $55.50 and a 52-week high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 12.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $99.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on W. R. Berkley from $93.00 to $87.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on W. R. Berkley from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W. R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.