W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 310,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 310,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $67.80 per share, with a total value of $21,018,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 53,571,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,147,971.20. This represents a 0.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $67.50 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $56.86 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.34 and its 200 day moving average is $72.11. The stock has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.6% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 96,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,496,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,161,000 after buying an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Finally, American Trust bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at $1,847,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WRB. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $71.47.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo/Mitsui bought a sizeable block of Berkley shares over Jan. 20–21 (about 630k shares total, roughly $42.6M at ~$67.5–67.8 per share), increasing its stake and signaling institutional confidence/support for the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.6m SEC Ownership Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a preview of Wall Street projections for WRB’s Q4 metrics — useful context for investors but not a direct catalyst until actual quarterly results are released. Insights Into W.R. Berkley (WRB) Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary assessing Berkley’s valuation after an expanded share buyback plan highlights buyback support for per‑share metrics, but the net market impact depends on execution and timing. Assessing W. R. Berkley (WRB) Valuation After Its Expanded Share Buyback Plan
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a “sell” rating and cut its price target sharply to $55 from $77, implying notable downside from current levels; that analyst action likely pressured sentiment and contributed to the stock’s decline. TD Cowen downgrades W R Berkley (WRB)

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.