Manitou Investment Management Ltd. Acquires 600 Shares of Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Manitou Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 111.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Markel Group comprises approximately 0.4% of Manitou Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Manitou Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the first quarter worth $408,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Markel Group by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,767 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $27,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,657 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group in the 1st quarter worth $421,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Markel Group by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $2,181.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2,046.72 and a 200-day moving average of $1,988.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.81. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,621.89 and a fifty-two week high of $2,207.59.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $22.77 by $8.13. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 12.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MKL. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research raised Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,025.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,330 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,119.12, for a total value of $2,818,429.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 60,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,927,036.16. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total transaction of $155,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,669,103.80. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,575 shares of company stock worth $3,330,900. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Profile

Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.