M&T Bank Corp Grows Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 182.1% in Q4, owning 41,179 shares after adding 26,582 shares, valued at about $2.89 million.
• Sumitomo Insurance purchased 345,000 shares on Feb. 19 for ~$24.37 million (at $70.65/share), raising its holding to 57,508,038 shares; insiders own 23.0% of the company while institutional investors own 68.82%.
• W.R. Berkley beat quarterly estimates (EPS $1.30 vs $1.13; revenue $3.69B vs $3.18B), trades at a P/E of 14.02 with a $24.78B market cap, but analysts' consensus rating is Reduce with an average target of $68.81.

M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 182.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,179 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,582 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $2,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,025 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 172,670 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,108,000 after acquiring an additional 37,129 shares during the period. J.M. Arbour LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $781,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 50,121 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,514,000 after purchasing an additional 10,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 24,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,309 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 345,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $24,374,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 57,508,038 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,942,884.70. The trade was a 0.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 3,430,946 shares of company stock worth $240,647,958 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 23.00% of the company's stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $66.17 on Tuesday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $67.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.41.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 18.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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 anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WRB shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $74.00 to $66.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $68.81.

W.R. Berkley 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.

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