Markel Group Inc. Raises Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 559,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 1.6% of Markel Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Markel Group Inc. owned about 0.70% of LPL Financial worth $199,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,762,581,000 after buying an additional 317,002 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after buying an additional 477,094 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,107,610,000 after buying an additional 627,546 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $874,493,000 after buying an additional 2,612,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,453,000 after buying an additional 383,466 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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

Several analysts have issued reports on LPLA shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $285.78 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $274.93 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $305.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $338.64. The firm has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

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.

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