Lawrence Cunningham, a director at Markel Group (MKL), recently bought 25 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 6 percent, and came to a total cost of $36,500.
The buy came a few weeks after the company CEO bought 100 shares, paying about $148,000 to do the same. Over the past six months, there have been nine insider buys, and two small sales from company directors, following a similar trend from 2022.
Overall, company insiders own 2.1 percent of shares.
The property and casualty insurance company is up about 23 percent over the past year, nearly double the returns of the S&P 500. Insurance has held up strongly as investors have been able to raise premium rates above and beyond inflation.
Markel shares trade at about 10 times earnings, and profit margins are near 13 percent, on the higher end for the highly regulated insurance industry.
Action to take: Investors may like shares at current prices or on any market drop, as insurance companies tend to be solid long-term performers. Merkel is a bit expensive in terms of price, and shares don’t pay a dividend.
For traders, shares have been trending higher all year, and that looks likely to continue. The January 2024 $1,700 calls, last going for about $7.50, could see mid-double-digit returns on a further rally in the months ahead.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.