Insider Buying: W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Major Shareholder Purchases $10,646,320.00 in Stock

W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 146,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $10,646,320.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 58,668,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,278,090,540.08. This represents a 0.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WRB opened at $69.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 1-year low of $60.68 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.71 and its 200-day moving average is $72.22.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.17% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 4th quarter worth about $3,542,919,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $682,816,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,752,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 6,503.1% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,561,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $188,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 35,572.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,219,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213,679 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WRB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen lowered W.R. Berkley from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $77.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Evercore 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.67.

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.