Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $859.81 Million Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 548,147 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,606 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 4.22% of Markel Group worth $859,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKL. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Markel Group by 36.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 214,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $326,124,000 after buying an additional 57,528 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in shares of Markel Group by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 85,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $134,320,000 after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Markel Group by 156,757.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $17,223,000 after purchasing an additional 10,973 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,596,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Markel Group by 52.2% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 22,341 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,202,000 after acquiring an additional 7,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company's stock.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.1 %

MKL stock traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,641.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,757. The company has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.73. Markel Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,317.00 and a 12 month high of $1,670.24. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,568.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,571.31. 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 (NYSE:MKL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.27 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MKL. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Markel Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Markel Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,651.83.

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.