Alta Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Alta Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 90.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,890 shares during the period. Alta Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $4,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Markel Group by 4.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $516,391,000 after buying an additional 13,372 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 209,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $327,131,000 after acquiring an additional 10,254 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at $169,852,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 78,735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $135,915,000 after acquiring an additional 7,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,987,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MKL shares. TD Cowen lowered 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 research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,685.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following 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 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 800 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total value of $1,485,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,919.34 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,815.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,691.36. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,417.65 and a 12-month high of $2,063.68. The firm has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.78.

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, research analysts forecast 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.