LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Bought by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 56.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 57,362 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $56,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,742,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $593,663,000 after buying an additional 12,214 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 41.5% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 5,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 116.6% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,852,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 24.5% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 187,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,537,000 after buying an additional 36,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,975,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total transaction of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total transaction of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $299.73 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $281.51 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $307.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.76.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $398.86.

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.