Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys 146,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 146,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $10,646,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 58,668,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,278,090,540.08. The trade was a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed 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

WRB stock traded down $0.56 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,684,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,762. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $60.68 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $69.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.35.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth $3,542,919,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $435,752,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after buying an additional 2,213,679 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore set a $69.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.