Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys 220,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 220,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $71.15 per share, with a total value of $15,653,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 57,888,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,118,775,313. This trade represents a 0.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WRB traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.57. 1,641,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,957,137. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.54 and a 200-day moving average of $72.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.68 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of 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, TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WRB. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 75.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,419,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.6% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after buying an additional 4,423 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 368 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.