Key Points
- Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui purchased 164,786 shares of W.R. Berkley on Feb. 24 at an average price of $70.81 (totaling about $11.67M), raising its stake to 58,053,406 shares (a 0.28% increase).
- W.R. Berkley declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share (annualized $0.36), payable Mar. 4, implying a yield of roughly 0.5%.
- The stock carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $69.67 average price target; the company reported Q4 EPS of $1.13 (missed by $0.01) and trades at a PE of about 16.2 with a market cap near $27.4B.
W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co Mitsui bought 164,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.81 per share, with a total value of $11,668,496.66. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,053,406 shares in the company, valued at $4,110,761,678.86. This represents a 0.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.
W.R. Berkley Stock Up 0.6%
Shares of NYSE WRB opened at $72.06 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $69.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.20. The company has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12-month low of $60.68 and a 12-month high of $78.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.
W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.35% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.
W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.
Institutional Trading of W.R. Berkley
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 8.9% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 202,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,496,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 737,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $54,161,000 after buying an additional 4,423 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in W.R. Berkley by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,241,509 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $401,607,000 after acquiring an additional 242,546 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new stake in W.R. Berkley during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,847,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in W.R. Berkley by 133.5% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 31,520 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,415,000 after acquiring an additional 18,022 shares during the period. 68.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have issued reports on WRB shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Truist Financial set a $80.00 price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays reissued 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $73.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.67.
Check Out Our Latest Stock 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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