Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 345,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 345,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $24,374,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 57,508,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,062,942,884.70. The trade was a 0.60% 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. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

NYSE WRB traded up $0.74 on Friday, hitting $71.08. 1,763,929 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,827. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.16. The firm has a market cap of $27.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $60.20 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,542,919,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at about $682,816,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $435,752,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601,230 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $155,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213,679 shares during the period. 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.