SEB Asset Management AB Acquires Shares of 16,710 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,027,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $371,616,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in LPL Financial by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,294,869,000 after purchasing an additional 996,806 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $327.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $295.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.33. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.92.

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.