W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Given New $75.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

WRB has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Argus downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down from $64.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $68.50.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $1.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $72.51. The company had a trading volume of 56,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,856. W.R. Berkley has a one year low of $62.87 and a one year high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.23.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.17. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 23rd. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

About W.R. Berkley

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company’s product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.