LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Stock Bought by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 566,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,181 shares during the period. LPL Financial comprises approximately 1.3% of Markel Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $173,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,333,189,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $1,182,595,000. SurgoCap Partners LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth about $299,487,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $290,481,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter worth about $229,756,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $445.00 to $413.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $354.00 to $335.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.60.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $297.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $327.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.32. The company has a market cap of $23.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.55. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 32.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.20 EPS. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.45 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is currently 6.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,397.52. The trade was a 4.80% 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. Insiders sold 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc is a financial services company that supports independent financial advisors and institutions across the United States. Through its primary subsidiary, LPL Financial LLC, the company provides brokerage, investment advisory, and custodial services, enabling advisors to serve individual investors, families, retirement plans, and other clients.

LPL’s platform includes access to brokerage and advisory products, securities clearing and custody, trading and operations support, technology, compliance services, investment research, and practice-management resources.