D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $1.36 Million Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB) by 49.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,032 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,968 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in W. R. Berkley by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. PFS Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of W. R. Berkley by 51.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of W. R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in W. R. Berkley by 49.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W. R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $64.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.90. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 1-year low of $45.75 and a 1-year high of $65.49.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. W. R. Berkley had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. W. R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W. R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. W. R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of W. R. Berkley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of W. R. Berkley from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised W. R. Berkley from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays initiated coverage on W. R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on W. R. Berkley from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.22.

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.