W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 860,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,551 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.23% of W.R. Berkley worth $65,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 148.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo (a >10% holder) has been buying materially—multiple purchases Jan. 5–9 totaling roughly 671k shares—signaling confidence from a large, strategic investor and providing steady demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The board increased the share repurchase authorization to 25 million shares, which supports buyback-driven EPS/book‑value accretion expectations and likely lifted sentiment among income/capital-return focused holders. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts/shops remain constructive — e.g., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target — helping offset negative notes and giving investors a visible upside case. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its Q4 and full‑year 2025 earnings release for Jan. 26 (after‑market) with a conference call — this is a clear near‑term catalyst that could swing the stock either way. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI downgraded WRB to “underperform” citing EPS pressure and set a ~$69 target — high‑profile downgrades can trigger selling or reduce conviction among momentum investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America and other shops have trimmed targets or maintained cautious stances, adding to mixed analyst sentiment and limiting upside from current levels. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 275,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.95 per share, with a total value of $18,961,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 51,915,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,579,571,173.85. This trade represents a 0.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 3,108,875 shares of company stock worth $217,295,222 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.5%

WRB stock opened at $68.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a one year low of $55.97 and a one year high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 7.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WRB has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, October 27th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $67.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.87.

W.R. Berkley 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.