Royal Bank of Canada Has Lowered Expectations for Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Stock Price

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

MKL has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Markel Group stock opened at $1,550.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,566.95 and a 200 day moving average of $1,570.04. Markel Group has a fifty-two week low of $1,317.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,670.24.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $21.97 by ($4.63). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Markel Group will post 91.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Markel Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKL. Boston Partners grew its position in Markel Group by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 214,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $326,124,000 after acquiring an additional 57,528 shares during the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. grew its position in Markel Group by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 85,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Markel Group by 156,757.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,223,000 after acquiring an additional 10,973 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Markel Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,596,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Markel Group by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 22,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,202,000 after acquiring an additional 7,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.12% 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.