Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $10,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. L.K. Benson & Company P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $252,000. GM Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,000. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 603 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In related news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,858.49, for a total transaction of $2,129,829.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 63,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,426,699.78. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,702.20.

Markel Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MKL opened at $1,833.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,852.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,718.08. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,417.65 and a twelve month high of $2,063.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 7.55%. As a group, research analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current year.

About Markel Group

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.