Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position 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 17.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,293 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.09% of LPL Financial worth $25,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,372,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,956,000 after purchasing an additional 154,200 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,264,000 after acquiring an additional 20,881 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,730,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $631,664,000 after acquiring an additional 95,423 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in LPL Financial by 224.1% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,053,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 35.9% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $495,964,000 after acquiring an additional 400,352 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $377.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $341.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $360.00. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 36.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $411.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $490.00 to $462.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.00.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,959,260.20. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,336,675 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About LPL Financial

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.