Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 53 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Lafayette Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Markel Group comprises 6.7% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Lafayette Investments Inc. owned 0.16% of Markel Group worth $32,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKL. Wambolt & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC now owns 240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.1% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 910 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,434,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,435.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,643.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham acquired 20 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Price Performance

MKL stock traded up $4.96 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,572.52. The company had a trading volume of 4,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,703. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,567.60 and a 200 day moving average of $1,563.44. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,295.65 and a fifty-two week high of $1,670.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $25.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.76 by $5.19. Markel Group had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.86 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 89.94 earnings per share for the current year.

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.