First National Advisers LLC Sells 416 Shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

First National Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,258 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 416 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $2,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Markel Group during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Markel Group during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Markel Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Markel Group stock opened at $1,850.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,837.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,708.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,417.65 and a one year high of $2,063.68. The stock has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.81.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Markel Group

In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, for a total transaction of $200,801.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at $98,282,049.45. This trade represents a 0.20 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven A. Markel sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,858.49, for a total value of $2,129,829.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 63,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $118,426,699.78. This trade represents a 1.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,034 shares of company stock worth $3,778,952 over the last three months. 1.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,702.20.

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.