Cantor Fitzgerald Cuts W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $76.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its target price cut by Cantor Fitzgerald from $78.00 to $76.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $67.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price target on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.00.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB opened at $67.85 on Wednesday. W.R. Berkley has a 12-month low of $56.86 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $71.86 and its 200 day moving average is $72.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given 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 currently 7.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In related news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 325,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.03 per share, for a total transaction of $22,109,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,496,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,571,337,167.12. This represents a 0.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 4,454,916 shares of company stock valued at $309,561,870. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,328 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during 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 (Mitsui) has been buying sizeable blocks of WRB across Jan. 12–16, repeatedly increasing its stake with purchases at prices around the high-$60s; the purchases represent multi‑million dollar commitments and act as an insider vote of confidence. Mitsui Sumitomo buys Berkley (WRB) shares
• Neutral Sentiment: The purchases are all formally disclosed in SEC ownership filings, which confirm the trades and updated stake size but show each increase is under 1% individually; transparency reduces uncertainty but the moves are gradual. SEC ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target modestly while keeping an overweight stance, reflecting slightly lower upside from that analyst but continued support; other shops remain mixed, leaving consensus near the low‑$70s. Cantor Fitzgerald lowers expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals and analyst mix are headwinds: WRB is trading below its 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages (~$72), and several analysts carry hold/underweight views or lower targets, which can cap near‑term upside despite insider buying.

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.