Inkwell Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 2,749 Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Inkwell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,745,000. Markel Group accounts for 5.1% of Inkwell Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in Markel Group by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 370,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $639,606,000 after purchasing an additional 80,922 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $516,391,000 after buying an additional 13,372 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Markel Group by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 281,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $486,580,000 after acquiring an additional 42,178 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Markel Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 209,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $327,131,000 after acquiring an additional 10,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Markel Group during the 4th quarter valued at $254,795,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $1,853.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,865.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,729.19. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,417.65 and a fifty-two week high of $2,063.68. The company has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.82. 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, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 88 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. This represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952 in the last quarter. 1.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Markel Group 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.