Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Lowers Stock Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec cut its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,930 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.11% of Markel Group worth $24,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 370,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $639,606,000 after purchasing an additional 80,922 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Markel Group by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 281,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $486,580,000 after acquiring an additional 42,178 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $254,795,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 121,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,891,000 after acquiring an additional 19,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 116,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $201,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,702.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 88 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,860.03, for a total value of $163,682.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 63,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,992,863.08. The trade was a 0.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of MKL opened at $1,877.25 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $23.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.70. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,491.03 and a 1 year high of $2,063.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,823.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,768.11.

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

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.