Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $5,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp boosted its stake in Markel Group by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 22 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the third quarter valued at $36,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Markel Group by 833.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Performance

MKL stock opened at $1,764.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.73. Markel Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $1,342.66 and a 12-month high of $1,809.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,621.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,591.76. 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 (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 88.52 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,626.83.

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.