Parnassus Investments LLC Cuts Position in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Parnassus Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 860,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,551 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in W.R. Berkley were worth $65,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,715,583,000 after purchasing an additional 625,685 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,438,000 after purchasing an additional 577,873 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $29,617,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 275,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.95 per share, for a total transaction of $18,961,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,915,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,579,571,173.85. This trade represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders purchased 3,108,875 shares of company stock valued at $217,295,222 in the last three months. Insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.87.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $68.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.97 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.33.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 7.56%.

W.R. Berkley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo (a >10% holder) has been buying materially—multiple purchases Jan. 5–9 totaling roughly 671k shares—signaling confidence from a large, strategic investor and providing steady demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the share repurchase authorization to 25 million shares, which supports buyback-driven EPS/book?value accretion expectations and likely lifted sentiment among income/capital-return focused holders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/shops remain constructive — e.g., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target — helping offset negative notes and giving investors a visible upside case. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its Q4 and full?year 2025 earnings release for Jan. 26 (after?market) with a conference call — this is a clear near?term catalyst that could swing the stock either way. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI downgraded WRB to “underperform” citing EPS pressure and set a ~$69 target — high?profile downgrades can trigger selling or reduce conviction among momentum investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and other shops have trimmed targets or maintained cautious stances, adding to mixed analyst sentiment and limiting upside from current levels. Read More.

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.