W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 24,030 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 24,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.59 per share, for a total transaction of $1,696,277.70. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 56,556,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,334,064.68. This represents a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $71.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $59.55 and a 1-year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders 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 (DPR) is 8.09%.

Trending Headlines about W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance increased its stake with three purchases (Feb. 9, 10 and 11) totaling about 97,996 shares (~$6.83M at the reported prices), nudging its ownership above 56.5M shares. Insider buying at these levels is a strong bullish signal for sentiment and supports the recent price rise. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Bank of America Financial Services Conference; the transcript provides detail on strategy, underwriting, and reserve positioning that investors can use to judge forward outlook. Review the transcript for management commentary. Bank of America Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Management also presented at UBS’s Financial Services Conference; that transcript offers additional color on capital deployment and loss-cost trends — useful but not market-moving by itself. UBS Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS maintained a Hold rating on WRB, which suggests analysts are not yet ready to turn bullish despite insider buying — this may limit near-term analyst-driven upside. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent media pieces are re‑examining WRB’s valuation after a strong multi‑year run, prompting debate about upside vs. current multiples and expected earnings growth — these discussions can increase volatility as investors reassess valuation. Is It Time To Reassess Valuation Look

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WRB. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore set a $69.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus cut their target price on W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.