Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Raises Stock Holdings in Markel Group Inc. $MKL

Key Points

• Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management increased its Markel Group stake by 13% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 204,861 shares worth about $440.4 million. Markel now represents roughly 3.8% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Markel Group’s latest earnings disappointed, reporting EPS of -$18.90 versus analyst expectations of $26.38, while revenue of $3.55 billion also came in below estimates. Analysts still expect the company to earn 113.55 EPS for the full year.
• Wall Street remains cautious on MKL, with several rating changes and a consensus Hold rating, along with an average price target of $2,025. Recent insider trades were mixed, including one director buy and one director sale.

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,861 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,631 shares during the quarter. Markel Group makes up approximately 3.8% of Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned about 1.62% of Markel Group worth $440,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKL. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 109 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Markel Group by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 34,704 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $64,883,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Markel Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Markel Group during the 2nd quarter worth $463,000. Institutional investors own 77.12% of the company's stock.

Markel Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKL opened at $1,844.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,866.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,989.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $182.19 and a fifty-two week high of $2,207.59.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $3.55 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Markel Group Inc. will post 113.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MKL shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Markel Group from $2,100.00 to $1,950.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Markel Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday. Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Markel Group in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $2,100.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Markel Group from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Markel Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2,025.00.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In related news, Director Diane Leopold bought 50 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1,789.19 per share, for a total transaction of $89,459.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $984,054.50. This represents a 10.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Greta J. Harris sold 76 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,847.31, for a total transaction of $140,395.56. Following the sale, the director owned 645 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,514.95. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

About Markel Group

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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