J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 42.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 203 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Markel Group by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 539,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $793,979,000 after purchasing an additional 16,597 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 129,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $183,935,000 after buying an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Scharf Investments LLC now owns 126,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $180,214,000 after buying an additional 4,933 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 94,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $139,564,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 88,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $130,317,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

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

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of Markel Group stock opened at $1,463.11 on Thursday. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,272.43 and a one year high of $1,560.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $1,484.62 and its 200 day moving average is $1,444.97. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NYSE:MKL) last announced its 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 anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 80.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.