Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys 250,221 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 250,221 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.75 per share, with a total value of $16,952,472.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 56,353,656 shares in the company, valued at $3,817,960,194. This represents a 0.45% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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

W.R. Berkley stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.15. 1,778,781 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,508,529. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $59.55 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted 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 net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at about $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $65,233,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.