Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 220,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 220,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.56 per share, with a total value of $15,523,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 49,886,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,519,992,216.16. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of WRB stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,598,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,735. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.97 and a one year high of $78.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.55. The company has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WRB. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Mizuho set a $67.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wolfe Research began coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.93.

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.