Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 204,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 204,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $69.50 per share, for a total transaction of $14,178,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,009,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,406,190,691. This represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB traded up $0.76 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,250,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,573,696. The stock has a market cap of $26.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.37. 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 1-year low of $55.97 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.62.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WRB. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,161,000 after acquiring an additional 4,423 shares during the last quarter. American Trust acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter worth about $1,847,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 73,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,382,000 after acquiring an additional 4,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 100,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,393,000 after buying an additional 3,750 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.