Cooke & Bieler LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,465 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $90,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,191,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,692,115,000 after purchasing an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 36.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 214,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $326,124,000 after purchasing an additional 57,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the fourth quarter valued at $214,216,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 100,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $142,465,000 after purchasing an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 90,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $128,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MKL traded down $2.57 on Wednesday, hitting $1,572.62. 6,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 43,200. The stock has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,567.87 and a 200-day moving average of $1,546.02. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,295.65 and a fifty-two week high of $1,670.24.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $20.76 by $5.19. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.86 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham bought 20 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 743 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,787.50. The transaction 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MKL shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,626.83.

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.