State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,497 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $7,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKL. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Markel Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Markel Group by 90.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group in the first quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group in the first quarter valued at about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $1,557.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,565.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,550.22. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,295.65 and a fifty-two week high of $1,670.24.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.76 by $5.19. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham bought 20 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,512.50 per share, with a total value of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,626.83.

About Markel Group

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.