Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Stake in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,737 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 1.56% of Markel Group worth $376,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKL. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $288,361,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,738,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,167,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,332,543,000 after acquiring an additional 9,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 26,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,222,000 after acquiring an additional 9,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Markel Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Stock Down 1.0%

Markel Group stock opened at $2,025.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,621.89 and a one year high of $2,207.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2,105.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2,007.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.80.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $22.77 by $8.13. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,330 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,119.12, for a total transaction of $2,818,429.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,927,036.16. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total value of $155,470.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $3,669,103.80. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,575 shares of company stock valued at $3,330,900. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Company Profile

Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.