Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 205,000 shares of W.R. Berkley on Dec. 29 at an average price of $70.77 (total ~$14.51M), increasing its stake to 50,091,511 shares (a 0.41% rise); the trade was disclosed in an SEC filing.
- W.R. Berkley beat estimates in its most recent quarter with EPS $1.10 vs. $1.07 expected and revenue of $3.77 billion, up 10.8% year-over-year; analysts project about 4.33 EPS for the fiscal year.
- The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, ~0.5% yield) and the stock carries a consensus "Hold" rating with an average target price of $73.93.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 205,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.77 per share, for a total transaction of $14,507,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 50,091,511 shares in the company, valued at $3,544,976,233.47. The trade was a 0.41% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.3%
NYSE:WRB opened at $70.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.97 and a twelve month high of $78.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.53. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.56%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,961,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,715,583,000 after purchasing an additional 625,685 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,921,114 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,143,256,000 after buying an additional 149,605 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley in the 3rd quarter valued at about $682,816,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,189,248 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $599,271,000 after acquiring an additional 289,172 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in W.R. Berkley by 8.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,274,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $534,438,000 after acquiring an additional 577,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on W.R. Berkley in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.93.
View Our Latest Analysis on W.R. Berkley
About W.R. Berkley
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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