Markel Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the period. LPL Financial accounts for 1.6% of Markel Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $199,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in LPL Financial by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $285.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $274.93 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average is $305.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.64.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.71%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total value of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial 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.