Wells Fargo & Company Cuts W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) Price Target to $66.00

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $68.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WRB. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of W.R. Berkley from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $64.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of W.R. Berkley from $69.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $84.00 price objective on W.R. Berkley and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $70.43.

W.R. Berkley Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:WRB opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. W.R. Berkley has a 1-year low of $58.07 and a 1-year high of $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The insurance provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. W.R. Berkley’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

W.R. Berkley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. W.R. Berkley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at W.R. Berkley

In other news, major shareholder Sumitomo Insurance Co L. Mitsui purchased 308,931 shares of W.R. Berkley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.61 per share, for a total transaction of $20,886,824.91. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 55,618,435 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,362,390.35. This represents a 0.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders bought 6,811,847 shares of company stock worth $468,372,975. 23.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.R. Berkley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,099,746 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,114,000 after purchasing an additional 133,804 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of W.R. Berkley by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 109,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,680,000 after purchasing an additional 7,848 shares in the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 4,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in W.R. Berkley by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,505,867 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $245,831,000 after purchasing an additional 906,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting W.R. Berkley

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large, strategic insider purchases by Sumitomo/Mitsui — multiple disclosed buys this week totaling roughly $69M (several blocks: 370k, 350k and 308,931 shares at ~$67/share) signal confidence from a 10%+ shareholder and add short‑term buying support. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management reiterated a sub‑30% expense‑ratio target, flagged increased technology investments and announced ~$971M returned to shareholders (buybacks/dividends) — supports EPS leverage and capital return upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary on record investment income and buybacks has prompted debate that stronger profitability plus buybacks could materially change the investment case for WRB. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results: a very small EPS miss ($1.13 vs. $1.14 consensus) and revenue roughly in line — removes shock but leaves little positive surprise in the quarter; investors will watch guidance and underwriting trends. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms cut price targets (Jefferies to $70, Mizuho to $67, Wells Fargo to $66, Bank of America trimmed expectations) — signals limited near‑term upside and likely keeps downward pressure on the multiple. Read More. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts note solid underwriting but slowing growth and valuation concerns; the narrow EPS miss plus flat revenue keep upside constrained and justify mid‑$60s targets. Read More.

About W.R. Berkley

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.