American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Markel Group Inc. by 50.3%, owning 23,952 shares valued at approximately $44.78 million as of the last SEC filing.
• Analysts recently upgraded Markel Group's rating from "hold" to "buy," reflecting growing confidence in the company's prospects, with an average price target of $1,820.33.
• Markel Group reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $25.46, exceeding analysts' expectations, and revenue growth of 24.3% year-over-year.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 50.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,952 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,014 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.19% of Markel Group worth $44,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKL. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Markel Group in the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 116,664 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $201,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 168.3% in the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Ossiam increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 320 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis increased its stake in shares of Markel Group by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 155 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.12% of the company's stock.

Markel Group Stock Performance

NYSE MKL traded down $35.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,943.32. 74,943 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,084. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,976.60 and its 200-day moving average is $1,901.33. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,494.00 and a 1 year high of $2,075.92. The company has a market capitalization of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $25.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $24.74 by $0.72. Markel Group had a net margin of 13.39% and a return on equity of 7.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $18.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 96.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Argus upgraded shares of Markel Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,820.33.

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.