Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance bought 308,931 shares of W.R. Berkley at an average price of $67.61 on Jan. 28, a $20.9M purchase that raised its stake to 55,618,435 shares (a 0.56% increase).
- W.R. Berkley posted a slight Q4 EPS miss ($1.13 vs. $1.14 consensus) with revenue roughly inline at $3.18B, while management reaffirmed a sub‑30% expense target, signaled increased technology investments and returned $971M to shareholders; the company also pays a $0.09 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~0.5%).
- Analysts are mixed—price targets range from the mid‑$60s to $76 and MarketBeat's consensus target is $70.43—reflecting downgrades and hold ratings that limit near‑term upside despite solid underwriting and investment income.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 308,931 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $67.61 per share, for a total transaction of $20,886,824.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 55,618,435 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,362,390.35. This trade represents a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major 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 Stock Up 0.7%
Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $67.67 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.07 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $25.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $70.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.02.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.
W.R. Berkley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley's payout ratio is presently 8.09%.
More W.R. Berkley News
Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently issued reports on WRB. BMO Capital Markets lowered W.R. Berkley from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $64.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $69.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $70.43.
Get Our Latest Analysis on W.R. Berkley
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WRB. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in W.R. Berkley during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in W.R. Berkley in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.
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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