Parallel Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $4,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quilter Plc raised its position in Markel Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 33,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at $252,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,736,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,764,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,702.20.

Insider Transactions at Markel Group

In other news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total transaction of $1,485,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,446,902.40. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. This represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.7 %

MKL opened at $1,860.89 on Tuesday. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,417.65 and a 12 month high of $2,063.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,841.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,711.83.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. Sell-side analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.