Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 320,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 320,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.48 per share, with a total value of $21,593,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 53,891,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,636,598,689.92. This trade represents a 0.60% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.3%

WRB stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,681,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,519. The firm has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.11. 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 $56.86 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $71.47.

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.