Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Acquires New Stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baxter Bros Inc. increased its position in shares of Markel Group by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 611 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,549,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $88,423,000 after buying an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group in the fourth quarter worth $221,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lowered Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,702.20.

Markel Group Price Performance

MKL opened at $1,863.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,417.65 and a 1 year high of $2,063.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,859.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,723.67. The firm has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.82.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 88 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,860.03, for a total transaction of $163,682.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 63,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,992,863.08. This trade represents a 0.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952. Company insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

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.