Gilbert & Cook Inc. Acquires 7 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKL. Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Markel Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Markel Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 77.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MKL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,626.83.

Markel Group Stock Performance

MKL traded up $18.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,821.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,879. The company has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Markel Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,342.66 and a 52-week high of $1,842.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $1,745.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,636.77.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 86.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.