W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Acquires 200,930 Shares

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 200,930 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.59 per share, for a total transaction of $14,183,648.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,965,175 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,631,703.25. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 2.1%

W.R. Berkley stock traded down $1.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,242,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,665. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.38. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.97 and a one year high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 7.56%.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sumitomo Insurance (a major WRB shareholder) made large open-market purchases across Jan. 5–7, adding roughly 681,218 shares and increasing its stake by about 0.4–0.5% — a strong signal of confidence from a large strategic investor. SEC filing: Sumitomo purchases
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $76 (from $73) and maintains a market-perform view, providing incremental analyst support that implies upside from current levels. W R Berkley price target raised to $76 from $73 at Keefe Bruyette
• Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings release and conference call for Jan. 26 — a key date that will likely drive volatility and reprice expectations depending on results and underwriting trends. Earnings date announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial media highlighted the wave of early-2026 insider purchases (including Sumitomo’s buys), which may attract attention from value investors but does not guarantee near-term price support. Billionaires Start 2026 With Huge Insider Buys
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore downgraded WRB to Underperform citing EPS pressure, a notable negative catalyst because downgrades can prompt selling and reduce demand from institutional holders. W.R. Berkley downgraded to Underperform at Evercore on EPS pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target slightly to $73 from $74 — a modest negative signal that, combined with the Evercore note, is pressuring near-term sentiment. W R Berkley price target lowered to $73 from $74 at BofA

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WRB. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $67.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.47.

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.