Jennison Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 111.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,086 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.59% of Markel Group worth $110,745,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 780 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Markel Group news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director A. Lynne Puckett acquired 72 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,409.28 per share, with a total value of $101,468.16. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,908.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares in the company, valued at $63,718,474.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,600.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $1,475.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a research report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,450.00.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,473.60 on Tuesday. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,272.43 and a fifty-two week high of $1,560.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,483.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,444.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $19.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.70.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $23.58 by $32.90. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 12.63%. On average, analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 80.08 earnings per share for the current year.

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.