W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Purchases $2,356,561.08 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 33,966 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.38 per share, for a total transaction of $2,356,561.08. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 56,532,622 shares in the company, valued at $3,922,233,314.36. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Price Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.55. 2,447,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,340,822. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $59.55 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.05 and a 200 day simple moving average 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 (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS 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 net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. TD Cowen downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus lowered their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

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.