Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Markel by 2.6% in Q4, selling 14,053 shares and finishing the period with 533,135 shares (about 4.23% of the company) valued at $1.146 billion.
• Markel reported a sharp quarterly miss, posting EPS of ($18.90) versus a $26.38 consensus and revenue of $2.82 billion versus $3.66 billion expected, indicating a significant earnings and revenue shortfall.
• Analyst and institutional sentiment is cautious: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $2,025 price target and several downgrades, while institutional ownership remains high at 77.12% amid notable position changes by other funds.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 533,135 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,053 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 4.23% of Markel Group worth $1,146,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKL. Canerector Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 191,036.0% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 10,703,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $20,458,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10,698,016 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 75.9% in the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 336,369 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $671,850,000 after acquiring an additional 145,146 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 415,160 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $892,496,000 after acquiring an additional 41,632 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $46,738,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,288,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of MKL opened at $1,751.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,948.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,019.64. Markel Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,719.41 and a 1 year high of $2,207.59.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The insurance provider reported ($18.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $26.38 by ($45.28). The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Markel Group had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 7.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 117.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Markel Group

In other news, CEO Simon Wilson sold 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,079.48, for a total transaction of $207,948.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,984,513.56. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. Zacks Research cut shares of Markel Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Markel Group from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $2,100.00 to $1,950.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Brean Capital assumed coverage on shares of Markel Group in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $2,100.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Markel Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Markel Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2,025.00.

Markel Group Company Profile

Markel Group NYSE: MKL is a diversified insurance holding company best known for underwriting specialty insurance products. Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company provides a wide range of commercial property and casualty coverages tailored to niche and hard-to-place risks. Its underwriting operations focus on specialty lines across multiple industries, delivering customized policy structures, program administration, and claims management services for complex exposures.

In addition to primary specialty insurance, Markel operates reinsurance and alternative risk-transfer activities and manages invested assets derived from underwriting float.

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