Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 727 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $15,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKL. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 32 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC increased its position in Markel Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 145 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Markel Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 7 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Markel Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 469 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,702.20.

Markel Group Price Performance

NYSE MKL opened at $1,867.00 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,417.65 and a 12 month high of $2,063.68. The stock has a market cap of $23.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,867.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,732.85.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,282,049.45. This represents a 0.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total transaction of $1,485,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,446,902.40. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.