W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Purchases 265,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 265,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.50 per share, for a total transaction of $18,152,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,445,463 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,014,215.50. This trade represents a 0.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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

W.R. Berkley stock traded down $1.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,242,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,665. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.97 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $72.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WRB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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 report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 359,895 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,610,000 after buying an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.2% during the first quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 37,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sumitomo Insurance (a major WRB shareholder) made large open-market purchases across Jan. 5–7, adding roughly 681,218 shares and increasing its stake by about 0.4–0.5% — a strong signal of confidence from a large strategic investor. SEC filing: Sumitomo purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $76 (from $73) and maintains a market-perform view, providing incremental analyst support that implies upside from current levels. W R Berkley price target raised to $76 from $73 at Keefe Bruyette
• Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release and conference call for Jan. 26 — a key date that will likely drive volatility and reprice expectations depending on results and underwriting trends. Earnings date announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial media highlighted the wave of early-2026 insider purchases (including Sumitomo’s buys), which may attract attention from value investors but does not guarantee near-term price support. Billionaires Start 2026 With Huge Insider Buys
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore downgraded WRB to Underperform citing EPS pressure, a notable negative catalyst because downgrades can prompt selling and reduce demand from institutional holders. W.R. Berkley downgraded to Underperform at Evercore on EPS pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target slightly to $73 from $74 — a modest negative signal that, combined with the Evercore note, is pressuring near-term sentiment. W R Berkley price target lowered to $73 from $74 at BofA

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.