Primecap Management Co. CA Acquires New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,507,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,204,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,998,000 after buying an additional 6,630 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $371,616,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,713,000 after buying an additional 57,362 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the sale, the director owned 23,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,427 shares of company stock valued at $1,910,778. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $360.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $330.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.00.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The business had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

LPL Financial 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.