California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 1,785 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 84,212 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,785 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $119,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 150.0% in the third quarter. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE now owns 20 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 3,200.0% in the third quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 66 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 10,100.0% in the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In other news, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1,414.74 per share, with a total value of $141,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,718,474.86. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director A. Lynne Puckett purchased 72 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,409.28 per share, for a total transaction of $101,468.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,908.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MKL shares. Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,600.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $1,475.00 target price on shares of Markel Group in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $1,680.00 to $1,500.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,450.00.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of MKL stock opened at $1,479.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,484.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,444.84. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,272.43 and a one year high of $1,560.00.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $56.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $23.58 by $32.90. The firm had revenue of $3.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 11.22%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 80.08 EPS for the current 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.