Banyan Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Banyan Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the quarter. Markel Group accounts for 9.9% of Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Banyan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $21,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of Markel Group by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter valued at about $288,361,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Markel Group during the third quarter worth about $46,738,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Markel Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,167,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,332,543,000 after purchasing an additional 9,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Markel Group by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 26,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,222,000 after buying an additional 9,021 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut Markel Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Markel Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2,025.00.

Insider Transactions at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,119.12, for a total transaction of $2,818,429.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 60,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,927,036.16. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Simon Wilson sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,072.94, for a total transaction of $155,470.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,669,103.80. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,575 shares of company stock worth $3,330,900 over the last 90 days. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKL opened at $2,016.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $2,103.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2,008.28. Markel Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,621.89 and a 1-year high of $2,207.59. The firm has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.80.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The insurance provider reported $30.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $22.77 by $8.13. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 12.99%. Analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Markel Group Profile

Markel Group (NYSE: MKL) is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.