Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Acquires $20,454,000.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.18 per share, with a total value of $20,454,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 53,261,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,631,369,342.72. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Large 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 Trading Down 1.2%

WRB opened at $67.85 on Monday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $56.86 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.86 and its two-hundred 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.

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 the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.56%.

Trending Headlines about W.R. Berkley

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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Applied Capital LLC FL raised its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 29,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 37,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,620,000 after buying an additional 12,383 shares during the period. Elser Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $336,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 190,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,391,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 116,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered 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. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.