American Trust Invests $277,000 in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

American Trust bought a new stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Markel Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Markel Group by 90.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MKL. Citigroup lifted their target price on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen started coverage on Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,626.83.

Markel Group Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MKL opened at $1,561.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Markel Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,295.65 and a 12-month high of $1,670.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,562.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,556.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.73.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.76 by $5.19. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.86 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.00%. Equities research analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In other news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham bought 20 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

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.