Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $15,913,700.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $69.19 per share, for a total transaction of $15,913,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 52,726,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,648,146,811.76. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Large 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 Performance

Shares of NYSE WRB traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.21. 1,918,681 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,253,268. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.25. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.86 and a twelve month high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.