Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Purchases $16,486,852.90 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 237,734 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.35 per share, for a total transaction of $16,486,852.90. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 50,764,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,520,500,390.75. This trade represents a 0.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.45. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.97 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during 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 last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 191.1% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 847 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 17,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 2.5% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 18,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WRB shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $67.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.