Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 220,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 220,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,653,000.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 57,888,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,118,775,313. This represents a 0.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $71.56 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $60.68 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.19. The stock has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WRB. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 47.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 35,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,491,000 after buying an additional 11,400 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 33,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter valued at about $88,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 3,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,913,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,523,000 after acquiring an additional 20,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.