Jefferies Financial Group Raises Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Price Target to $1,600.00

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.28% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 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. TD Cowen began coverage on Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,643.50.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MKL stock traded up $5.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,564.33. The company had a trading volume of 33,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,245. Markel Group has a 1-year low of $1,295.65 and a 1-year high of $1,670.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,559.09 and a 200 day moving average of $1,558.73.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $20.76 by $5.19. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.00%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Markel Group will post 89.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In other news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham acquired 20 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,512.50 per share, with a total value of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Markel Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beacon Financial Group acquired a new stake in Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at $200,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Markel Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 2,359 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Markel Group by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 617 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Markel Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,191,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,692,115,000 after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

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.