Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Purchases $20,886,824.91 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui acquired 308,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.61 per share, with a total value of $20,886,824.91. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 55,618,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,362,390.35. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Stock Performance

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.56 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.99. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.07 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is 8.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $80.00 target price on W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $70.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,033,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,596,795,000 after buying an additional 309,828 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,143,256,000 after acquiring an additional 149,605 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $682,816,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $599,271,000 after acquiring an additional 289,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,438,000 after purchasing an additional 577,873 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.