W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Buys $1,439,800.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,439,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 56,576,652 shares in the company, valued at $4,072,953,177.48. This represents a 0.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of WRB opened at $69.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 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. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1 year low of $59.55 and a 1 year high of $78.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.16.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The company 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%.W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus reduced their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.