Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 320,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 320,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.48 per share, for a total transaction of $21,593,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 53,891,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,636,598,689.92. This trade represents a 0.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $67.52 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.86 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.08. The company has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

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

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Mitsui Sumitomo purchased a sizeable block of Berkley shares (roughly 630k shares across Jan. 20–21, ~ $42.6M), increasing its stake — a strong institutional vote of confidence that can support the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other outlets published Q4 previews and Wall Street metric projections indicating likely solid premium growth, improved investment income and prudent underwriting — useful guidance for what to expect when Berkley reports results. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains mixed: consensus rating skews toward “Reduce” with an average price target near $71.47 — watch upcoming earnings and guidance to see which way estimates move.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed near‑term EPS forecasts (multiple cuts to Q4/Q1 and FY2026–FY2027 estimates), which lowers near‑term expectations and may pressure the stock if others follow. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Sell and slashed its price target to $55 from $77 — a high‑profile downgrade that likely weighed on sentiment and contributed to intraday weakness. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $71.47.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 96,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,116,000 after buying an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.9% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,496,000 after acquiring an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Trust bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $1,847,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W.R. Berkley

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.