Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Markel Co. (NYSE:MKL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 5th, 2023

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in shares of Markel Co. (NYSE:MKL – Get Rating) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,971 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Markel were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Markel by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 9 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Markel by 12.2% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 83 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Markel by 2.5% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in Markel by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 514 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Markel by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 75.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Markel

In related news, Director A. Lynne Puckett acquired 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1,340.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,549.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,382,220.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Thomas Sinnickson Gayner bought 50 shares of Markel stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $1,359.93 per share, for a total transaction of $67,996.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,452,059.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director A. Lynne Puckett acquired 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1,340.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,549.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,031 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,382,220.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Markel Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Markel stock opened at $1,336.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.82 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,299.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,301.68. Markel Co. has a 52-week low of $1,064.09 and a 52-week high of $1,458.56.

Markel (NYSE:MKL – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The insurance provider reported $26.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $18.47 by $7.68. Markel had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 8.13%. The business had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Markel Co. will post 81.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Markel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 28th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Markel from $1,300.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Markel has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,516.67.

Markel Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Markel Corp. is a financial holding company, which engages in underwriting specialty insurance products for a variety of niche markets. It operates through the Insurance and Reinsurance segments. The Insurance segment includes all direct business and facultative placements written within the company’s underwriting operations.