Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,450.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on MKL. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $1,475.00 price objective on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,600.00 price target on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.4 %

MKL opened at $1,427.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.70. Markel Group has a 1-year low of $1,272.43 and a 1-year high of $1,560.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,482.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,445.33.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $23.58 by $32.90. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.22%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Markel Group will post 80.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director A. Lynne Puckett acquired 72 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, with a total value of $101,468.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,908.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director A. Lynne Puckett acquired 72 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, with a total value of $101,468.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,908.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares in the company, valued at $63,718,474.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Markel Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,191,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,692,115,000 after buying an additional 9,216 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Markel Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 662,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $845,879,000 after buying an additional 5,003 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Markel Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 539,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $793,979,000 after buying an additional 16,597 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 303,717 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $329,296,000 after purchasing an additional 5,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 2.8% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 178,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $228,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Company Profile

Markel Group Inc, a diverse holding company, engages in marketing and underwriting specialty insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The company offers general and professional liability, personal lines, marine and energy, specialty programs, and workers' compensation insurance products; and property coverages that include fire, allied lines, and other specialized property coverages, including catastrophe-exposed property risks, such as earthquake and wind.