W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target Lowered to $66.00 at Bank of America

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective cut by Bank of America from $69.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.57.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $67.33 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.06. The stock has a market cap of $25.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $58.07 and a 12-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.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 368,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.96 per share, with a total value of $24,641,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 54,589,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,655,313,187.84. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,782,916 shares of company stock valued at $399,073,250. Company insiders own 23.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601,230 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,711,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $284,350,000 after purchasing an additional 657,558 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported full‑year growth, strong underwriting and record investment income and highlighted operating improvement in the quarter — supports earnings durability. W. R. Berkley Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management is returning meaningful capital to shareholders — announced ~$971M returned (buybacks/dividends), a direct positive for EPS and shareholder value. W R Berkley signals increased technology investments and affirms sub-30% expense ratio target while returning $971M to shareholders
• Positive Sentiment: Insiders/major shareholders bought material stock this week (reports of ~ $22.3M and $24.6M purchases), which can signal confidence from insiders and underpin the share price. W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $22,258,500.00 in Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was roughly in line (~$3.18B, +2.1% y/y) while EPS missed by $0.01 (reported $1.13 vs. $1.14 estimate) — small miss reduces upside but is not a large operational setback. W.R. Berkley Q4 Earnings Miss Estimate, Revenues Up Y/Y
• Neutral Sentiment: Management signaled continued investment in technology and reiterated a sub‑30% expense ratio target — suggests focus on long‑term efficiency but may keep near‑term expense sensitivity. W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple sell‑side analysts lowered price targets (Jefferies, Wells Fargo, Mizuho, Bank of America) and maintained Hold/Neutral ratings — reduces near‑term analyst upside and may cap the stock. Analyst price target coverage (Benzinga links)
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary frames the stock as “structurally expensive” and notes slowing growth, which supports cautious analyst stances and could limit multiple expansion. W.R. Berkley: Solid Q4 But Structurally Expensive

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.