Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Markel Co. (NYSE:MKL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Markel Co. (NYSE:MKL – Get Rating) by 209.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel in the first quarter valued at about $148,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Markel by 11.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel in the first quarter valued at about $549,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Markel by 2.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,913 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,575,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Markel by 4.7% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Markel from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Markel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,516.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 75 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,340.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,549.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,220.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Markel news, Director Morgan E. Housel purchased 19 shares of Markel stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,330.70 per share, with a total value of $25,283.30. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $439,131. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,340.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,549.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,382,220.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 194 shares of company stock valued at $260,642. 1.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Markel Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MKL opened at $1,313.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 63.72 and a beta of 0.78. Markel Co. has a one year low of $1,064.09 and a one year high of $1,458.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,315.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,320.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Markel Profile

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Markel Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in underwriting specialty insurance products for a variety of niche markets. It operates through the Insurance and Reinsurance segments. The Insurance segment includes all direct business and facultative placements written within the company’s underwriting operations.