Markel Group Inc. Has $184.08 Million Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,717 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up about 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.69% of LPL Financial worth $184,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 912.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in LPL Financial by 72.0% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.97, for a total value of $278,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,423,581.40. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock worth $2,747,538. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LPLA. Barclays cut their target price on LPL Financial from $453.00 to $444.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial raised LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $365.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $440.00 to $433.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.07.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $358.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.57. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $262.83 and a 1-year high of $403.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $365.03 and its 200 day moving average is $358.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) is a U.S.-focused financial services firm that provides brokerage, custodial and advisory platforms to independent financial advisors, registered investment advisers and institutions. Operating primarily as an independent broker-dealer and custodian, the company supports a network of advisors with the operational, compliance and clearing infrastructure needed to manage client accounts and deliver investment advice outside of traditional wirehouse models.

The firm’s product and service offerings include trade execution and clearing, custody services, retirement plan services, model portfolio and advisory platforms, wealth management technology, investment research and product access across equities, fixed income, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and insurance and annuity solutions.