Front Street Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Front Street Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MKL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Markel Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,191,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,692,115,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers increased 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 purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased 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 purchasing an additional 57,528 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Markel Group by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 113,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $178,931,000 after buying an additional 5,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Markel Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 90,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $128,183,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Markel Group stock opened at $1,572.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,565.27 and a 200-day moving average of $1,554.13. Markel Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $1,295.65 and a 52 week high of $1,670.24. The stock has a market cap of $20.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.76 by $5.19. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for 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%. On average, analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,626.83.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In related news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham purchased 20 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.