Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Sells 1,726 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,726 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $4,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MKL. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its holdings in Markel Group by 1,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 22 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 833.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Markel Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In related news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham purchased 20 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Markel Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price target on the stock. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of Markel Group stock opened at $1,542.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,567.50 and a 200-day moving average of $1,567.26. The company has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Markel Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,295.65 and a 1-year high of $1,670.24.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 91.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.