California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.46% of Markel Group worth $103,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Markel Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 3,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 31 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,702.20.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.6 %

MKL stock opened at $1,867.00 on Tuesday. Markel Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,417.65 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,867.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,732.85.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. This represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 64,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,446,902.40. The trade was a 1.22 % 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 valued at $3,778,952 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

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.