Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $98.74 Million in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 57,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $98,743,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.44% of Markel Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Markel Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,685.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total transaction of $1,485,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 64,868 shares in the company, valued at $120,446,902.40. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. This trade represents a 0.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MKL opened at $1,895.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.82. Markel Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,417.65 and a 12-month high of $2,063.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,826.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,699.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

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.