Markel Co. (NYSE:MKL) – Equities research analysts at William Blair issued their Q1 2019 earnings estimates for Markel in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 7th. William Blair analyst A. Klauber expects that the insurance provider will earn $11.93 per share for the quarter. William Blair also issued estimates for Markel’s Q2 2019 earnings at $10.10 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $8.37 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $11.60 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $12.69 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $11.79 EPS and Q4 2020 earnings at $13.21 EPS.
Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Zacks Investment Research raised Markel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,163.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 2nd. Boenning Scattergood set a $1,300.00 target price on Markel and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 31st. TheStreet lowered Markel from a “b” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 6th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered Markel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1,231.50.
MKL stock opened at $1,018.01 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59 and a beta of 0.90. Markel has a 1 year low of $954.39 and a 1 year high of $1,228.32.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Markel by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 904,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $939,056,000 after acquiring an additional 55,697 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in Markel by 1.2% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 557,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $662,119,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Markel by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 288,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $299,882,000 after buying an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Markel by 11.5% during the third quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 222,021 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $263,870,000 after buying an additional 22,980 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Markel by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 186,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,231,000 after buying an additional 2,032 shares during the period. 75.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In other news, Vice Chairman Steven A. Markel sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,035.75, for a total transaction of $103,575.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 102,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,065,978.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lemuel E. Lewis bought 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1,096.50 per share, for a total transaction of $274,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,315,832. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,100 shares of company stock worth $1,137,437 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.46% of the company’s stock.
About Markel
Markel Corporation, a diverse financial holding company, markets and underwrites specialty insurance products in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Insurance, International Insurance, and Reinsurance. The U.S. Insurance segment offers general and professional liability, property, personal line, program, and workers’ compensation insurance products, as well as other insurance product lines, such as ocean marine, surety, CPI, and coverages.