W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Acquires 204,350 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 204,350 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.38 per share, with a total value of $14,177,803.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 48,805,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,386,155,978.44. This represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of WRB traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.13. 3,250,017 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,573,696. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.62. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. 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 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the first quarter worth about $211,000. Norinchukin Bank The grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 15.4% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 15,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 15,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $67.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.93.

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.