W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Acquires 235,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 235,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.90 per share, for a total transaction of $16,191,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 52,961,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,649,047,625.60. The trade was a 0.45% 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. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $67.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.86 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business 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%. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.56%.

Key Headlines Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo (Mitsui) has been buying sizeable blocks of WRB across Jan. 12–16, repeatedly increasing its stake with purchases at prices around the high-$60s; the purchases represent multi‑million dollar commitments and act as an insider vote of confidence. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares
• Neutral Sentiment: The purchases are all formally disclosed in SEC ownership filings, which confirm the trades and updated stake size but show each increase is under 1% individually; transparency reduces uncertainty but the moves are gradual. SEC ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target modestly while keeping an overweight stance, reflecting slightly lower upside from that analyst but continued support; other shops remain mixed, leaving consensus near the low‑$70s. Cantor Fitzgerald lowers expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and analyst mix are headwinds: WRB is trading below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages (~$72), and several analysts carry hold/underweight views or lower targets, which can cap near‑term upside despite insider buying.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Mizuho set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.7% during 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after purchasing an additional 149,605 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $682,816,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $599,271,000 after buying an additional 289,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,438,000 after acquiring an additional 577,873 shares in the last quarter. 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.