Man Group plc Has $44.92 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Man Group plc decreased its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 69.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 137,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 311,358 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $44,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,032,000 after acquiring an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,660,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $868,757,000 after acquiring an additional 57,485 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $385.05 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $323.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $331.40. The company has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.19 and a fifty-two week high of $390.23.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.31%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on LPLA shares. StockNews.com upgraded LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.42.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total transaction of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total value of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,490,838.75. This trade represents a 21.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.