Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 20,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,422,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,438,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,012,788,441.60. The trade was a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Trading Down 1.1%

WRB stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.48. 1,520,901 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,423,589. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $59.55 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were 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 was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.09%.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.