Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance purchased 200,930 shares of W.R. Berkley at $70.59 on Jan. 5 for $14,183,648.70, boosting its stake to 50,965,175 shares (a 0.40% increase) according to an SEC filing.
- Analyst views are mixed ahead of W.R. Berkley’s Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release set for Jan. 26 (after the close): Evercore downgraded to "underperform" with a $69 target while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $76, and the consensus MarketBeat target is $73.47.
- The company recently beat quarterly expectations with $1.10 EPS (vs. $1.07 est.) and $3.77B revenue (vs. $3.16B est.), showing 10.8% revenue growth, a 18.9% ROE and a modest dividend yield of 0.5%.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 200,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.59 per share, for a total transaction of $14,183,648.70. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 50,965,175 shares in the company, valued at $3,597,631,703.25. The trade was a 0.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.1%
Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $68.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.49 and a 200-day moving average of $72.38. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.97 and a 52-week high of $78.96.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 7.56%.
Key Headlines Impacting W.R. Berkley
Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Large insider purchases by major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance — Sumitomo disclosed three buys (Jan. 5–7) totalling ~681k shares, signalling confidence from a >10% holder and adding steady demand at current levels. Sumitomo SEC filing
- Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $76 (from $73), noting supportive fundamentals — this is a constructive analyst action that provides some upside counterweight to downgrades. Keefe Bruyette target raise
- Positive Sentiment: Bullish commentary pieces highlighting WRB's upside potential have circulated, which can help sentiment among growth-focused investors. Bullish thesis / coverage
- Neutral Sentiment: W.R. Berkley set its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release for Jan. 26 (after market close) with a conference call scheduled — a catalyst that could drive volatility either way. Earnings date announcement
- Negative Sentiment: Evercore ISI downgraded WRB to "underperform" citing EPS pressure and set a $69 target — a high-profile downgrade can prompt selling and weigh on near-term price action despite the target being near the current level. Evercore downgrade
- Negative Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target slightly (to $73 from $74), another modest negative datapoint in analyst coverage. BofA target cut
Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 756 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,997 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 3.3% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,788 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $66.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, W.R. Berkley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.47.
View Our Latest Research Report on WRB
W.R. Berkley Company Profile
(
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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