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

Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 553,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,717 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial comprises about 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $184,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 912.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 81 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in LPL Financial by 72.0% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 86 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 116.2% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 80 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $453.00 to $444.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $406.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of LPL Financial from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total value of $28,198.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,939,344.96. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. This trade represents a 35.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,388 shares of company stock valued at $2,747,538. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $358.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.57. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.83 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $358.36.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.