Key Points
- Major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 230,000 shares on December 31 at an average price of $70.27, a $16.16 million transaction that raised its stake to 50,526,511 shares (a 0.46% increase), disclosed in an SEC filing.
- W.R. Berkley beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.10 versus $1.07 expected and reported revenue of $3.77 billion, up 10.8% year-over-year, while analysts forecast full-year EPS of about 4.33.
- The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, a 0.5% yield), has a $26.36 billion market cap, and holds an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $73.93 consensus price target.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 230,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.27 per share, for a total transaction of $16,162,100.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 50,526,511 shares in the company, valued at $3,550,497,927.97. The trade was a 0.46% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Stock Performance
W.R. Berkley stock opened at $69.36 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.97 and a fifty-two week high of $78.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 7.56%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WRB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $78.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $75.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.93.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WRB
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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