CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in W. R. Berkley Co. (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,878 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc's holdings in W. R. Berkley were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W. R. Berkley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 7,553,875 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $593,584,000 after buying an additional 54,530 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of W. R. Berkley by 211.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,674,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $208,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493,758 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in W. R. Berkley by 3.5% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 2,698,311 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $197,838,000 after buying an additional 92,242 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in W. R. Berkley by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,037,599 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $160,128,000 after buying an additional 139,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in W. R. Berkley by 1.4% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,929,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $151,654,000 after acquiring an additional 26,464 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W. R. Berkley Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WRB traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $60.09. The stock had a trading volume of 136,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,355. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62. W. R. Berkley Co. has a 12-month low of $45.75 and a 12-month high of $61.96.

W. R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that W. R. Berkley Co. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

W. R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. W. R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of W. R. Berkley from $59.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of W. R. Berkley from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on W. R. Berkley from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on W. R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.08.

W. R. Berkley Company Profile

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.