Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Purchases 682 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 682 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $43,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 20 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the first quarter worth $41,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the third quarter worth $47,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $1,475.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,600.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,450.00.

Markel Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $1,455.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. Markel Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,272.43 and a 52 week high of $1,560.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,483.41 and its 200 day moving average is $1,444.79.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $23.58 by $32.90. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 12.63%. The company had revenue of $3.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 80.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,718,474.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Markel Group news, Director A. Lynne Puckett bought 72 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,718,474.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

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.