D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 7,659 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 22,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,659 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $35,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,191,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,692,115,000 after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in shares of Markel Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 287,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $452,311,000 after acquiring an additional 970 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Markel Group by 36.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 214,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $326,124,000 after acquiring an additional 57,528 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Markel Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 113,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $178,931,000 after acquiring an additional 5,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Markel Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 90,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $128,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MKL. TD Cowen began coverage on Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Markel Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,626.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham bought 20 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,512.50 per share, with a total value of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,566.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.73. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,295.65 and a 12 month high of $1,670.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,562.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,554.82.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $20.76 by $5.19. The business had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.1 earnings per share 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.