JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 2,360,694 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,913,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,360,694 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.29% of W.R. Berkley worth $376,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the second 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $401,607,000 after purchasing an additional 242,546 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth $367,921,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 2,738,612 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $201,206,000 after purchasing an additional 121,045 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

W.R. Berkley Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of W.R. Berkley stock opened at $70.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.17. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $59.55 and a 52-week high of $78.96.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be 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 is Monday, February 23rd. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 285,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $20,132,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 57,163,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,037,997,004.32. The trade was a 0.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 8,316,450 shares of company stock valued at $572,768,056 in the last three months. Company insiders own 23.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $64.00 price target (down previously from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut shares of W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Key Stories Impacting W.R. Berkley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Sumitomo Insurance (a >10% holder) bought a total of 566,386 WRB shares across Feb. 17–18 (~285,000 on Feb. 18 at $70.64 and ~281,386 on Feb. 17 at $71.19), increasing its stake by ~0.5% and signaling confidence from a large strategic investor. The purchases total about $40 million and were disclosed to the SEC. SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch notes that WRB underperformed peers on Tuesday despite daily gains, suggesting sector dynamics or relative valuation shifts may be influencing short‑term flows. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed multiple quarterly and full‑year EPS forecasts (Q1–Q3 2026, Q1–Q3 2027 and FY2026–FY2028), lowering FY2026 to $4.56 and FY2027 to $4.78 from prior levels — a material downward revision cadence that could pressure forward guidance expectations and investor sentiment.

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.