B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its position in shares of Markel Group by 1,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 22 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Markel Group by 833.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. 77.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MKL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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 note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,651.83.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of MKL opened at $1,750.00 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,597.58 and a 200 day moving average of $1,586.38. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $1,342.66 and a 12 month high of $1,751.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.73.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last released its 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). Markel Group had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 88.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Markel Group Company 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.