Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $50.30 Million Stake in W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 717,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,388 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.19% of W.R. Berkley worth $50,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of W.R. Berkley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

Shares of WRB stock opened at $66.13 on Thursday. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $78.96. The stock has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.37. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.02.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 18.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. W.R. Berkley’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WRB shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of W.R. Berkley from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $68.75.

Insider Transactions at W.R. Berkley

In other W.R. Berkley news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui acquired 370,000 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.07 per share, with a total value of $24,815,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 54,959,504 shares in the company, valued at $3,686,133,933.28. The trade was a 0.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 5,778,946 shares of company stock valued at $399,026,238 over the last quarter. 23.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

W.R. Berkley Profile

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.