Markel Group Inc. $MKL Shares Sold by Barr E S & Co.

Barr E S & Co. cut its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 77,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Markel Group makes up about 8.7% of Barr E S & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Barr E S & Co.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $167,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Canerector Inc. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 191,036.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 10,703,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,458,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10,698,016 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,172,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,242,020,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 547,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,045,947,000 after purchasing an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 415,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $892,496,000 after purchasing an additional 41,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $671,850,000 after purchasing an additional 145,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MKL opened at $1,844.94 on Friday. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,719.41 and a 1 year high of $2,207.59. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,904.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,013.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.67.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($18.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.38 by ($45.28). Markel Group had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 7.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 113.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. Brean Capital began coverage on Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $2,100.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research lowered Markel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Markel Group from $2,100.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Markel Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,025.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Markel Group news, CEO Simon Wilson sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,079.48, for a total value of $207,948.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,984,513.56. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Diane Leopold bought 50 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,789.19 per share, for a total transaction of $89,459.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $984,054.50. The trade was a 10.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Company 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.