Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 40,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $69.38 per share, for a total transaction of $2,775,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 56,498,656 shares in the company, valued at $3,919,876,753.28. The trade was a 0.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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

Shares of WRB traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.55. 2,447,920 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,340,822. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.55 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.11.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $435,752,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after buying an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 33.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,886,000 after buying an additional 1,224,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,754,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $193,137,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140,349 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About W.R. Berkley

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.