Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 20,000 shares of W.R. Berkley on Feb. 12 at an average price of $71.99, spending about $1.44M and raising its stake to 56,576,652 shares (a 0.04% increase) valued near $4.07B.
- W.R. Berkley slightly missed quarterly EPS (reported $1.13 vs. $1.14 expected) while revenue was $3.18B (up 2.1% y/y), and analysts have trimmed targets leaving an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $69.67 amid recent downward revisions.
- The company has a market cap of $26.45B and a PE of 15.64, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09 (annualized $0.36, yield 0.5%) with a low payout ratio of 8.09%.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,439,800.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 56,576,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,072,953,177.48. The trade was a 0.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Stock Down 2.9%
WRB opened at $69.60 on Friday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52 week low of $59.55 and a 52 week high of $78.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.11. 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 company has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.37.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). W.R. Berkley had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research 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 paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.09%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On W.R. Berkley
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter worth $533,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 13,735 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the 4th quarter worth about $421,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in W.R. Berkley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 14,364 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 68.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $64.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.67.
Get 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.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
