Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $2.14 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lowered its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 48.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,072 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,204,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,998,000 after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $371,616,000. Finally, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,822,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the sale, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,397.52. The trade was a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,735 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,845. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.3%

LPLA opened at $359.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $340.76 and a 200 day moving average of $315.54. The company has a market cap of $28.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $400.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $405.79.

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.