Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 256,041 shares on Jan. 12 at an average $68.73 (≈$17.6M), raising its direct stake to ~52.17M shares, and cumulative buys over Jan. 12–14 were about 811,041 shares (~$55.6M), a clear insider vote of confidence.
- Despite the insider purchases, WRB is trading below its 50- and 200-day moving averages (≈$72) and faces mixed analyst coverage with a consensus "Hold" rating and a $73 average target, implying limited near-term upside.
- Operationally, WRB recently beat EPS estimates ($1.10 vs. $1.07), reported revenue up 10.8% year-over-year and a ROE of ~18.9%, while offering a small dividend yield of 0.5%.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 256,041 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.73 per share, for a total transaction of $17,597,697.93. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 52,171,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,585,747,469.92. This trade represents a 0.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Price Performance
W.R. Berkley stock opened at $68.71 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.23. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.86 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The insurance provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The firm 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 was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio is 7.56%.
More W.R. Berkley News
Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder Sumitomo (Mitsui) bought large blocks of WRB over Jan. 12–14 (approximately 811,041 shares in total), spending roughly $55.6M aggregate — a clear insider vote of confidence that increases their stake and signals long-term support. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Multiple filings confirm the buys (SEC ownership filing shows the purchases and updated stake size); these are disclosed increases of less than 1% each but cumulatively meaningful for share count. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target from $78 to $76 but kept an "overweight" rating — a modest reduction in upside but still a positive stance from that analyst. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Technicals and analyst mix may be weighing on the stock: WRB is trading below its 50- and 200-day moving averages (~$72) and analyst coverage remains mixed (average target near $73, several holds and a few underweights), creating limited near-term upside despite insider buying.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have recently issued reports on WRB shares. Truist Financial set a $84.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $68.00 price target on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut W.R. Berkley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.R. Berkley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on W.R. Berkley
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 75.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 50,503 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 21,737 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 399.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 9,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 4.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
W.R. Berkley Company Profile
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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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