American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,854 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $27,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MKL. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Markel Group by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 32 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 145 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Markel Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Markel Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 469 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,702.20.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MKL opened at $1,853.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.82. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,417.65 and a 12 month high of $2,063.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,865.72 and a 200-day moving average of $1,729.19.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total transaction of $1,485,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,868 shares in the company, valued at $120,446,902.40. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. This trade represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952 over the last three months. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Markel Group Profile

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.