Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $14,178,000.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 204,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.50 per share, with a total value of $14,178,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,009,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,406,190,691. This represents a 0.42% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

WRB opened at $70.64 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.97 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.57.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The company’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 fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 7.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WRB has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,715,583,000 after buying an additional 625,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,143,256,000 after acquiring an additional 149,605 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 11,787,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $838,808,000 after acquiring an additional 65,163 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $682,816,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $599,271,000 after purchasing an additional 289,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

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.