W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Purchases $22,258,500.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 330,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.45 per share, for a total transaction of $22,258,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 54,221,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,657,240,444.80. This represents a 0.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,969,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,733. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.05. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.86 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $69.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $71.47.

Key W.R. Berkley News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo / Mitsui bought a sizeable block of Berkley shares over Jan. 20–21 (roughly 630,000 shares, ~ $42–$43M total), increasing its stake and signaling institutional confidence/support for the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.6m
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published an earnings preview outlining expectations for WRB’s Q4 results (premium growth, investment income and underwriting performance are items to watch). This is useful context ahead of results but isn’t a direct catalyst until earnings are reported. W.R. Berkley Gears Up to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and price targets remain mixed (Buy/Hold/Sell split); consensus rating is around “Reduce” with an average target near the low- to mid?$70s — keep an eye on how individual shops adjust targets after earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen downgraded WRB to a Sell and cut its price target sharply to $55 from $77, a move that likely pressured sentiment and contributed to selling pressure. TD Cowen downgrades W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB) to a Sell
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed several near?term quarterly and FY EPS forecasts for WRB (multiple cuts to Q4/Q1–Q3 2026–27 and FY2026–27 estimates), lowering expected earnings momentum — this reduces near?term upside to the stock absent stronger underwriting/investment results.

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.