Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 242,546 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 242,546 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.38% of W.R. Berkley worth $401,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WRB. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 148.4% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.4%

WRB stock opened at $68.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $58.07 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $70.00 and a 200-day moving average of $72.02.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui bought 195,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.36 per share, for a total transaction of $13,330,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 56,103,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,835,230,816.60. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 7,296,847 shares of company stock worth $501,460,875. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WRB shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $70.43.

W.R. Berkley News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large, repeated insider purchases by major shareholder Sumitomo (Mitsui) over several days — totaling hundreds of thousands of shares and adding materially to a >10% stake — signal strong insider confidence and likely underpin buying interest. SEC Filing: Sumitomo/Mitsui buys WRB shares
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and updates highlighted record profitability, a $971M program of buybacks/dividends and a sub‑30% expense‑ratio target alongside increased technology investment — supportive for EPS and capital returns over time. W. R. Berkley signals increased technology investments and affirms sub‑30% expense ratio target while returning $971M to shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results showed a very small EPS miss ($1.13 vs. $1.14 consensus) with revenue roughly in line — not a material shock but it removes upside surprise from the quarter. W R Berkley (WRB) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms cut price targets (Jefferies, Mizuho, Wells Fargo, Bank of America) and the consensus analyst rating sits at “Reduce”, applying downward pressure and limiting near‑term upside. WRB Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts flag slowing growth and valuation concerns despite solid underwriting — trimmed targets to the mid‑$60s raise the risk of further multiple compression if results do not accelerate. W. R. Berkley: Solid Underwriting but Slowing Growth and Limited Upside Justify Neutral (Hold) Rating

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.