Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui Purchases 202,000 Shares of W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 202,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.26 per share, for a total transaction of $14,192,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 49,211,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,630,763.88. This represents a 0.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Up 1.1%

W.R. Berkley stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $70.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,250,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,573,696. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a P/E 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 current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.62. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.97 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given 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 payout ratio is 7.56%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at $682,816,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth approximately $367,921,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after buying an additional 2,601,230 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,892,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $374,886,000 after buying an additional 1,224,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4,198.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 777,201 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,306,000 after acquiring an additional 759,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WRB shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 target price on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.93.

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.