Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 9 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gold Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Markel Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 7 shares in the last quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Markel Group by 4.6% during 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 period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Markel Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 1,483 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Markel Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in Markel Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of Markel Group stock opened at $1,782.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.73. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,342.66 and a twelve month high of $1,809.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,617.95 and its 200 day moving average is $1,591.69. 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 (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.74 billion. Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 88.52 EPS 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.