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

Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,626.83.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham acquired 20 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,512.50 per share, with a total value of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 743 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Markel Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,574,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 31,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,412,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. Solitude Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter worth $1,182,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 41.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 4.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,684,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.8 %

MKL stock opened at $1,558.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Markel Group has a 52-week low of $1,295.65 and a 52-week high of $1,670.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,567.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,546.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.76 by $5.19. Markel Group had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Markel Group will post 89.05 EPS for the current 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.