Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 33,966 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 33,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.38 per share, for a total transaction of $2,356,561.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,532,622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,922,233,314.36. The trade was a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $1.63 on Wednesday, reaching $71.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,447,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,822. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.11. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $59.55 and a twelve month high of $78.96. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were 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 was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is 8.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WRB. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.