State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,446 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Markel Group were worth $7,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Markel Group by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 491 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Markel Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,070,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its position in Markel Group by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Constant Guidance Financial LLC acquired a new position in Markel Group in the 4th quarter valued at $801,000. Finally, Values Added Financial LLC increased its stake in Markel Group by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Markel Group from $1,750.00 to $2,025.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Markel Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,986.00 to $1,836.00 in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,685.17.

Insider Activity at Markel Group

In other Markel Group news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2,008.01 per share, with a total value of $200,801.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 48,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,282,049.45. The trade was a 0.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Markel Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MKL opened at $1,872.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Markel Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1,417.65 and a fifty-two week high of $2,063.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,784.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,666.20.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $20.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $20.66 by ($0.15). Markel Group had a return on equity of 7.55% and a net margin of 16.34%. Analysts expect that Markel Group Inc. will post 97.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.