W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 220,000 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 220,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.15 per share, for a total transaction of $15,653,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,888,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,118,775,313. This trade represents a 0.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

WRB traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.57. 1,641,239 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,957,137. The company has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $60.68 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $69.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.20.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after acquiring an additional 309,828 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after acquiring an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $599,271,000 after purchasing an additional 289,172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WRB. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.