W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Buys 325,000 Shares of Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 325,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.03 per share, for a total transaction of $22,109,750.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 52,496,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,571,337,167.12. This trade represents a 0.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large 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 Up 1.8%

Shares of WRB traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,918,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,268. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.86 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.12 and its 200 day moving average is $72.25. 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 (NYSE:WRB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, sell-side 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WRB. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 96,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $553,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,423 shares during the last quarter. American Trust bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,847,000. Finally, 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. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.00.

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.