Caxton Associates LLP Purchases New Position in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 415,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $892,496,000 after purchasing an additional 41,632 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in Markel Group by 75.9% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $671,850,000 after buying an additional 145,146 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 304,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $581,818,000 after purchasing an additional 6,160 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 204,861 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $440,379,000 after buying an additional 23,631 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Markel Group by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 153,099 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $292,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,539 shares during the period. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Greta J. Harris sold 76 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,847.31, for a total value of $140,395.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,514.95. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Diane Leopold acquired 50 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,789.19 per share, with a total value of $89,459.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $984,054.50. The trade was a 10.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Markel Group from $2,100.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Markel Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Markel Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Price Performance

NYSE:MKL opened at $2,016.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.66. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,719.41 and a one year high of $2,207.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,894.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,947.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($18.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.38 by ($45.28). The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 10.85%. Research analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 114.11 EPS for the current year.

About Markel Group

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.