LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 72,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $24,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Camden National Bank boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% during the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. PUREfi Wealth LLC now owns 732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 21,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,931. This trade represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,498 shares of company stock worth $3,336,602. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $500.00 price target on LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $399.00 to $378.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $428.71.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA opened at $300.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $357.60 and its 200-day moving average is $353.20. The stock has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.59. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.83 and a twelve month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.90%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

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.