Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 230,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.19 per share, for a total transaction of $15,913,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,726,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,648,146,811.76. This represents a 0.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WRB opened at $68.71 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $72.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.23. The stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.86 and a 12 month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The company’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WRB. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,715,583,000 after purchasing an additional 625,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after purchasing an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $682,816,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $599,271,000 after buying an additional 289,172 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $534,438,000 after buying an additional 577,873 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo (Mitsui) bought large blocks of WRB over Jan. 12–14 (approximately 811,041 shares in total), spending roughly $55.6M aggregate — a clear insider vote of confidence that increases their stake and signals long-term support. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple filings confirm the buys (SEC ownership filing shows the purchases and updated stake size); these are disclosed increases of less than 1% each but cumulatively meaningful for share count. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target from $78 to $76 but kept an “overweight” rating — a modest reduction in upside but still a positive stance from that analyst. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and analyst mix may be weighing on the stock: WRB is trading below its 50- and 200-day moving averages (~$72) and analyst coverage remains mixed (average target near $73, several holds and a few underweights), creating limited near-term upside despite insider buying.

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.