MJP Associates Inc. ADV Invests $217,000 in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV bought a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WJ Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. WJ Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 267.6% in the 2nd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.1% during the first quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 653,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,221,000 after acquiring an additional 54,272 shares during the period. 92.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 3,265 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.86, for a total value of $753,757.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,521.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 3,265 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.86, for a total value of $753,757.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,521.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard Steinmeier sold 10,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.68, for a total value of $2,499,604.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,104,689.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $246.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.92. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $179.00 and a twelve month high of $271.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.42.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 59.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LPLA. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on LPL Financial from $246.00 to $253.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $290.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, August 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $238.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.60.

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, retirement and education savings plans, fixed income, and insurance, as well as alternative investments, such as non-traded real estate investment trusts and auction rate notes.