MJP Associates Inc. ADV Grows Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 38.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after acquiring an additional 11,703 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,375,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 533.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,648,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in LPL Financial by 23.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 113,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,923,000 after acquiring an additional 21,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on LPL Financial from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on LPL Financial from $261.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $279.30.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total value of $1,574,288.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,546,624.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $196.23. The company had a trading volume of 747,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $253.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $289.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.90.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 52.14%. LPL Financial’s revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.06%.

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.