Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $2,123.00 and last traded at $2,112.5220, with a volume of 8573 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $2,083.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MKL. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Markel Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,990.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,968.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.81.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $22.77 by $8.13. Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 12.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,100.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,565,800. This represents a 0.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total transaction of $155,470.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,669,103.80. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 245 shares of company stock worth $512,471 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Markel Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canerector Inc. lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 191,036.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 10,703,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $20,458,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10,698,016 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,172,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,242,020,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Markel Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 547,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,045,947,000 after acquiring an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 75.9% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 304,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $581,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,160 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Markel Group

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.