First Financial Bank Trust Division Purchases Shares of 120 Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 120 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKL. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Markel Group by 3,729.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 14,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,366,000 after acquiring an additional 14,507 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Markel Group by 4.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $516,391,000 after purchasing an additional 13,372 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Markel Group by 156,757.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,223,000 after purchasing an additional 10,973 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 209,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,131,000 after purchasing an additional 10,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,596,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MKL traded down $8.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,717.36. 36,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,950. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Markel Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,342.66 and a 52-week high of $1,809.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,694.88 and its 200-day moving average is $1,611.92.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. As a group, analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 86.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.