Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Markel Group by 6.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Solitude Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,182,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Markel Group by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $742,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Markel Group by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,684,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Markel Group by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,068,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of MKL opened at $1,785.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,609.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,589.29. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,342.66 and a 12 month high of $1,809.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.73.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 88.52 EPS for the current year.

Markel Group 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.