W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 250,221 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 250,221 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.75 per share, with a total value of $16,952,472.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 56,353,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,817,960,194. The trade was a 0.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.4%

WRB stock opened at $70.15 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.55 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.04. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,496,000 after acquiring an additional 16,450 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $401,607,000 after purchasing an additional 242,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Trust acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $1,847,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WRB shares. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen cut W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

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.