CIBC Asset Management Inc Raises Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 75.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,407 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,531 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $5,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marble Wealth LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $223,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,201,848 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $154,394,000 after acquiring an additional 466,501 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $193,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140,349 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of WRB opened at $68.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.87 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

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

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid 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 is Tuesday, June 23rd. This is a positive change from W.R. Berkley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of W.R. Berkley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Evercore reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.81.

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.