W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $10,529,610.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 147,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.63 per share, with a total value of $10,529,610.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,522,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,191,950,486.62. This represents a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $71.64 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.68 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.63 and its 200-day moving average is $72.22.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $401,607,000 after acquiring an additional 242,546 shares in the last quarter. American Trust bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $1,847,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 133.5% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,415,000 after purchasing an additional 18,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WRB. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.