W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Purchases 275,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 275,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.95 per share, for a total transaction of $18,961,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,915,463 shares in the company, valued at $3,579,571,173.85. The trade was a 0.53% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.5%

NYSE:WRB traded down $1.79 on Friday, reaching $68.45. 2,476,822 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,459,150. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.33. The company has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.97 and a 12 month high of $78.96. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the third quarter worth $682,816,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in 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 worth $188,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601,230 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 21.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,711,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,350,000 after purchasing an additional 657,558 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 target price (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $67.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.87.

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.