Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

MKL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Markel Group stock opened at $1,785.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Markel Group has a 1 year low of $1,342.66 and a 1 year high of $1,809.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,613.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,590.65.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Markel Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 36.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 214,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $326,124,000 after purchasing an additional 57,528 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Markel Group by 3,729.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 14,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,366,000 after buying an additional 14,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Markel Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $516,391,000 after buying an additional 13,372 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 85,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Markel Group by 156,757.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,223,000 after acquiring an additional 10,973 shares during the period. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.