95,357 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 95,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,860,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $450,493,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $371,616,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,294,869,000 after acquiring an additional 996,806 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 4,435.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 747,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,439,000 after acquiring an additional 730,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,163,000 after acquiring an additional 702,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $354.02 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $400.16. The firm has a market cap of $27.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $325.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.54.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

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.