2. Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) is a financial holding company. Latest data reveals that Berkshire Hathaway owned 420,293 shares in the company at the end of the first quarter of 2022 worth $620 million, representing 0.17% of the portfolio. The revenues of Markel have climbed four-fold in the past decade, with net income growing at a rate of over 20% during the period. The insurance business of the firm, generally a solid bet in times of inflation, has also shown pricing power.
On April 28, Truist analyst Mark Hughes maintained a Hold rating on Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) stock and raised the price target to $1,500 from $1,400, noting that the quarterly results of the firm had shown improved underwriting performance.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, 37 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $733 million in Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL), compared to 25 in the preceding quarter worth $689 million.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, London-based firm Polar Capital is a leading shareholder in Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL), with 98,750 shares worth more than $145 million.
In its Q3 2021 investor letter, Vltava Fund, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“It is interesting that although Berkshire Hathaway’s business model is fundamentally very simple, produces excellent results, and has been in the public eye for decades, almost no one has managed to replicate it. The implementation of this idea is seemingly very difficult. In fact, the sole company that has been largely successful in following Berkshire’s footsteps is Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL). Its foundation is likewise a successful and highly profitable insurance business that produces free capital for further investments into both public and non-public shares in combination with exemplary asset allocation.
Much of the credit for this goes to its co-CEO, Tom Gayner. Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) was originally a family business founded in 1930 by the Markel family. Tom Gayner came onto the scene in 1990, when he took over the investment part of Markel, and since 2016 he has held the position of co-CEO alongside Richard White. Tom Gayner is first and foremost an excellent investor and asset allocator. At Markel, he is currently in charge of a USD 28 billion investment portfolio, as well as the part that invests in private companies and goes by the name Markel Ventures. He has been instrumental in driving the stock price from USD 10 to USD 1,200 during his tenure. That is about the same percentage increase that Berkshire’s shares had over the same period.” (Click here to read full text)
