Ballast Inc. Invests $449,000 in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

Key Points

• Ballast Inc. has acquired 240 shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL), valued at approximately $449,000, during the first quarter.
• Markel Group received an upgrade from Argus, changing its rating from "hold" to "buy," reflecting positive analyst sentiment.
• Insider Director Greta J. Harris sold 90 shares of Markel for around $167,529.60, resulting in a 12.47% decrease in her ownership of the stock.

Ballast Inc. bought a new stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 240 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Markel Group by 183.3% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Markel Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Markel Group by 300.0% in the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 20 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in Markel Group by 866.7% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 29 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Argus raised Markel Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $1,820.33.

Insider Activity

In other Markel Group news, Director Greta J. Harris sold 90 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,861.44, for a total transaction of $167,529.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,430.08. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Markel Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Markel Group stock traded down $6.98 on Thursday, hitting $1,955.62. The stock had a trading volume of 28,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 57,541. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,973.69 and a 200 day moving average of $1,895.89. Markel Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $1,494.00 and a twelve month high of $2,075.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.82.

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