Tom Gayner’s Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) reported that its equity portfolio had a market value of around $3.5 billion for the second-quarter based on its 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Thomas Gayner serves as president and chief investment officer of Market Corporation (NYSE:MKL).
Major new stockholdings
During the quarter, Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) disclosed that its major new positions include the Class C shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), class A shares of Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE:AAN), NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW), Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII) and CME Group, Inc (NYSE:CME).
The financial holding company acquired 12,500 shares of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), 125,000 shares of Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE:AAN), 93,500 shares of NOW Inc (NYSE:DNOW), 110,000 shares of Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII) and 24,000 shares of CME Group, Inc (NYSE:CME).
Over the past few days, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been testing the Listen Now advertising format when consumers are searching for music artists. The search engine giant is displaying the name of the artists under the label Listen now accompanied by music services such as Spotify, Rhapsody, Beats Music and Google Play.
The search engine giant’s spokesperson confirmed that new ad format. “We’re happy to help users quickly find legitimate sources for their favorite movies, music and more via Google search,” said the spokesperson.
Last week, it had been reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) would favor raking more secure websites on its search engine. The company is currently testing a system that highlights HTTPS encryption by default. The company emphasized that the security is a top priority.
Increased position
Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) also increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 129,000 shares, The Chubb Corporation (NYSE:CB) by 134,000 shares and CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 101,000 shares.
In addition, Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) also acquired 186,000 shares of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), 305,000 shares of Unilever plc (ADR) (NYSE:UL) and 109,000 shares of Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) among others.
Markel financial performance
Early this month, Markel Corporation (NYSE:MKL) reported its financial results for the second-quarter. The financial holding company reported $511.28 book value per common share and $259.6 million in comprehensive income to shareholders. Its diluted net income per share was $2.66 per share.
