Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 112,176 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 112,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $72.20 per share, with a total value of $8,099,107.20. Following the purchase, the insider owned 58,780,450 shares in the company, valued at $4,243,948,490. The trade was a 0.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $70.44 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.35. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $60.68 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.24.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The business 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 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,596,795,000 after purchasing an additional 309,828 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $682,816,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 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.