Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE MKL opened at $2,065.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,107.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2,006.67. Markel Group has a 12 month low of $1,621.89 and a 12 month high of $2,207.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $22.77 by $8.13. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 7.76%. On average, analysts predict that Markel Group will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Markel Group news, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total value of $155,470.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,770 shares in the company, valued at $3,669,103.80. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,119.12, for a total value of $2,818,429.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 60,368 shares in the company, valued at $127,927,036.16. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,575 shares of company stock valued at $3,330,900 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Markel Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKL. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter worth $793,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 121.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $310,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Markel Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,023,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 26,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,984,000 after buying an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Markel Group Company 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.