Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) Shares Sold by Dover Advisors LLC

Dover Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SpiderRock Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 33,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,234 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,247,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,736,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at $98,282,049.45. This represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKL. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,685.17.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.9 %

MKL stock opened at $1,837.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,793.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,675.65. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,417.65 and a 12 month high of $2,063.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.78.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 7.55%. Equities analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.