Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Increases Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 82.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Markel Group by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Markel Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE MKL opened at $1,785.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1,609.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,589.29. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,342.66 and a one year high of $1,809.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 88.52 EPS for the current year.

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.