Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 427 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $22,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MKL. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Markel Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Markel Group in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Markel Group during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.7 %

MKL stock opened at $1,860.89 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,841.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,711.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,417.65 and a fifty-two week high of $2,063.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.82.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 7.55%. Analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total value of $1,485,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 64,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,446,902.40. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952. Insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MKL. TD Cowen cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,702.20.

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.