UBS Group AG Sells 27,635 Shares of Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its stake in Markel Group by 46.6%, selling 27,635 shares and leaving it with 31,691 shares valued at about $68.1 million (≈0.25% of the company).
• Research firms have downgraded Markel and the consensus rating is now Hold with a $2,025 price target after multiple firms lowered ratings or price objectives.
• Markel reported a sharp quarterly miss—EPS of ($18.90) vs. $26.38 expected and revenue of $2.82 billion vs. $3.66 billion expected—while the stock recently traded around $1,751, down about 1.6%.

UBS Group AG lessened its stake in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 46.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,635 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.25% of Markel Group worth $68,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Markel Group by 183.3% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 17 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Markel Group from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Markel Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on 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 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 downgraded 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2,025.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Simon Wilson sold 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,984,513.56. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Markel Group Stock Down 1.6%

MKL stock opened at $1,751.45 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,948.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2,019.64. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,719.41 and a fifty-two week high of $2,207.59. 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 company has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.67.

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

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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