W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 195,000 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 195,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.36 per share, with a total value of $13,330,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 56,103,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,835,230,816.60. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:WRB traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,732,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,536,692. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.00 and its 200-day moving average is $71.99. The company has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $58.07 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 4,353 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $391,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 86,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,690 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 2,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $746,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.43.

Key W.R. Berkley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large, repeated insider purchases by major shareholder Sumitomo (Mitsui) over several days — totaling hundreds of thousands of shares and adding materially to a >10% stake — signal strong insider confidence and likely underpin buying interest. SEC Filing: Sumitomo/Mitsui buys WRB shares
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and updates highlighted record profitability, a $971M program of buybacks/dividends and a sub‑30% expense‑ratio target alongside increased technology investment — supportive for EPS and capital returns over time. W. R. Berkley signals increased technology investments and affirms sub‑30% expense ratio target while returning $971M to shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results showed a very small EPS miss ($1.13 vs. $1.14 consensus) with revenue roughly in line — not a material shock but it removes upside surprise from the quarter. W R Berkley (WRB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms cut price targets (Jefferies, Mizuho, Wells Fargo, Bank of America) and the consensus analyst rating sits at “Reduce”, applying downward pressure and limiting near‑term upside. WRB Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag slowing growth and valuation concerns despite solid underwriting — trimmed targets to the mid‑$60s raise the risk of further multiple compression if results do not accelerate. W. R. Berkley: Solid Underwriting but Slowing Growth and Limited Upside Justify Neutral (Hold) Rating

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.