Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Lowers Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,653 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 756 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.07% of Markel Group worth $14,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Markel Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $762,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Markel Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 5,205 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,164,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 3,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 31 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,164,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 329,209 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $516,391,000 after purchasing an additional 13,372 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MKL. StockNews.com lowered Markel Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,702.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,856.80, for a total value of $1,485,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 64,868 shares in the company, valued at $120,446,902.40. This trade represents a 1.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,034 shares of company stock valued at $3,778,952. 1.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of Markel Group stock traded down $14.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,748.58. The company had a trading volume of 23,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,012. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,857.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,744.02. The stock has a market cap of $22.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current 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.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. As a group, analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 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.