Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,533 Shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,533 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Strs Ohio increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 27,817 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $870,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W. R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 51,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 23,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.2 %

WRB stock opened at $82.00 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.44. W. R. Berkley Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.50 and a fifty-two week high of $89.18.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. W. R. Berkley had a return on equity of 19.03% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 5.98 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 13th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded W. R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on W. R. Berkley from $71.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.