Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by TD Cowen

TD Cowen lowered shares of Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $1,836.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $1,986.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MKL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,626.83.

Markel Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,764.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.73. Markel Group has a 12 month low of $1,342.66 and a 12 month high of $1,809.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,621.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,591.76.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $21.97 by ($4.63). Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Markel Group will post 88.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Markel Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 9,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,574,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Solitude Financial Services acquired a new position in Markel Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,182,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its stake in Markel Group by 199.4% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Markel Group by 19.8% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,068,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Markel Group by 72.4% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 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.