Griffin Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Griffin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $967,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canerector Inc. boosted its position in Markel Group by 191,036.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 10,703,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,458,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10,698,016 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Markel Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,172,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,242,020,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Markel Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 547,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,045,947,000 after acquiring an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its position in Markel Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 415,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $892,496,000 after acquiring an additional 41,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its position in Markel Group by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of MKL opened at $1,861.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 0.67. Markel Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,719.41 and a 1-year high of $2,207.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,896.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,014.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($18.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $26.38 by ($45.28). Markel Group had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 7.90%. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 111.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Diane Leopold acquired 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,792.61 per share, with a total value of $179,261.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,190 shares in the company, valued at $3,925,815.90. This trade represents a 4.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,079.48, for a total transaction of $207,948.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,984,513.56. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Markel Group from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Markel Group from $2,100.00 to $1,950.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Brean Capital initiated coverage on shares of Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $2,100.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Markel Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Profile

Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.