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

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its position in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,406 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Markel Group accounts for 6.7% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $32,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in Markel Group by 1,000.0% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 22 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Markel Group by 833.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 28 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the second quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,986.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, Citigroup lifted their price objective on 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 equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1,643.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Markel Group news, Director Lawrence A. Cunningham bought 20 shares of Markel Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1,512.50 per share, for a total transaction of $30,250.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.71% of the company’s stock.

Markel Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Markel Group stock traded up $4.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,572.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,703. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,567.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,563.44. Markel Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $1,295.65 and a 1-year high of $1,670.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

About Markel Group

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.