Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $24,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 74.9% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 765,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,861,000 after buying an additional 327,580 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $316,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,663,000 after acquiring an additional 12,214 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 116.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, 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 transaction of $1,876,467.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. This represents a 35.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,520,838.15. The trade was a 12.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,498 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,602. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $478.00 target price on LPL Financial in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Trading Down 6.0%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $300.38 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $262.83 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $357.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $353.20.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.25 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.90%.

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.