W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $24,374,250.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 345,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $24,374,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,508,038 shares in the company, valued at $4,062,942,884.70. This trade represents a 0.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $71.08. 1,763,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,399,827. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $60.20 and a 12-month high of $78.96. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth $3,542,919,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,596,795,000 after buying an additional 309,828 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after buying an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at $682,816,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $599,271,000 after buying an additional 289,172 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.