W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Acquires 24,030 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 24,030 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.59 per share, with a total value of $1,696,277.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 56,556,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,334,064.68. This trade represents a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of WRB traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,447,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,822. 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 cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.05 and a 200-day moving average of $72.11. 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 announced its 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). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore set a $69.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.