Markel Group Inc. Has $173.84 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 532,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 1.5% of Markel Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $173,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 50.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,685,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,633,000. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in LPL Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 192,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,106 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upgraded LPL Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $413.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $435.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $379.17.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $311.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $384.04. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $353.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $301.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.55%.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.