Cooke & Bieler LP Acquires 7,988 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 0.47% of Markel Group worth $87,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 2.8% during the second quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 514 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Markel Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $1,475.00 price target on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,600.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,450.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,414.74 per share, for a total transaction of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 45,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,718,474.86. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1,414.74 per share, with a total value of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,718,474.86. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $1,456.69 on Friday. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,272.43 and a twelve month high of $1,560.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,483.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,444.77. The company has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $23.58 by $32.90. The business had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.22%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 80.08 EPS for the current year.

Markel Group Company 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.