W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $14,177,803.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 204,350 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $69.38 per share, for a total transaction of $14,177,803.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,805,938 shares in the company, valued at $3,386,155,978.44. This represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.6%

WRB opened at $70.64 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.28 and its 200-day moving average is $72.57. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.97 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.37.

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

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 is currently 7.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WRB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,955,000 after acquiring an additional 21,737 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the first quarter worth $211,000. Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 15.4% during the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 15,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,089 shares during the period. Allstate Corp raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 47.1% during the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 15,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 12.6% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 2,041 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.