Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 32 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 5.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MKL. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Markel Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Markel Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,326,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its position in Markel Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Markel Group by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MKL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Price Performance

MKL opened at $1,650.74 on Monday. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,325.00 and a 1 year high of $1,675.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,569.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,573.63.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $21.97 by ($4.63). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.