Baxter Bros Inc. Purchases 265 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Baxter Bros Inc. increased its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 76.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 611 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter worth about $169,852,000. Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 370,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $639,606,000 after purchasing an additional 80,922 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,743,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 281,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,580,000 after buying an additional 42,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at $54,173,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In related news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,858.49, for a total value of $2,129,829.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $118,426,699.78. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,282,049.45. This trade represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952. 1.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Markel Group Stock Up 1.8 %

MKL opened at $1,870.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,856.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,721.35. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,417.65 and a twelve month high of $2,063.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a report on Monday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.