W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 320,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 320,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.48 per share, with a total value of $21,593,600.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 53,891,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,636,598,689.92. This trade represents a 0.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WRB stock opened at $67.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $56.86 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm 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 revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) is presently 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the third quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $71.47.

Key Stories Impacting W.R. Berkley

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 (about 630k shares total, roughly $42.6M at ~$67.5–67.8 per share), increasing its stake and signaling institutional confidence/support for the stock. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares worth $42.6m SEC Ownership Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a preview of Wall Street projections for WRB’s Q4 metrics — useful context for investors but not a direct catalyst until actual quarterly results are released. Insights Into W.R. Berkley (WRB) Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary assessing Berkley’s valuation after an expanded share buyback plan highlights buyback support for per‑share metrics, but the net market impact depends on execution and timing. Assessing W. R. Berkley (WRB) Valuation After Its Expanded Share Buyback Plan
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a “sell” rating and cut its price target sharply to $55 from $77, implying notable downside from current levels; that analyst action likely pressured sentiment and contributed to the stock’s decline. TD Cowen downgrades W R Berkley (WRB)

W.R. Berkley Company Profile

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.