First Financial Bank Trust Division Makes New $207,000 Investment in Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL)

First Financial Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Markel Group Inc. (NYSE:MKL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 120 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Markel Group in the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Markel Group by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,727,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Markel Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 446 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Markel Group during the second quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Markel Group in the second quarter worth $306,000. 77.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKL. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Markel Group from $1,700.00 to $1,675.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen downgraded 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 report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Markel Group from $1,590.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Markel Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1,626.83.

Markel Group Price Performance

Shares of MKL traded down $8.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,717.36. 36,217 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,950. Markel Group Inc. has a one year low of $1,342.66 and a one year high of $1,809.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,694.88 and a 200-day moving average of $1,611.92.

Markel Group (NYSE:MKL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $17.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $21.97 by ($4.63). Markel Group had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.74 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Markel Group Inc. will post 86.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Markel Group Profile

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.