The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $1,333,189,000. Dodge & Cox raised its position in LPL Financial by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,948,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,454,000 after purchasing an additional 619,715 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,103,079,000 after buying an additional 289,227 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% during 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 buying an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during 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 buying an additional 702,061 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA stock opened at $360.45 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $338.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.51 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 9.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $389.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $405.79.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,735 shares of company stock worth $2,020,845. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

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.