W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 235,000 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 235,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.90 per share, with a total value of $16,191,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 52,961,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,649,047,625.60. This trade represents a 0.45% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 1.2%

WRB stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.85. The company had a trading volume of 3,279,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,263,809. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.86 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.09 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 7.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho set a $69.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.