Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Grows Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. significantly increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 3,385.4%, acquiring 85,177 additional shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 87,693 shares valued at approximately $28.69 million.
• LPL Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.51, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.21, with revenue of $3.84 billion, marking a 30.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 15, reflecting a 0.3% dividend yield.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 3,385.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 85,177 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.11% of LPL Financial worth $28,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,795,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 275.0% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 491,145 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,364,000 after purchasing an additional 61,551 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA traded down $1.30 on Wednesday, reaching $366.00. The stock had a trading volume of 658,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.22. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $204.41 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $372.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $355.67. The stock has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 39.80% and a net margin of 7.91%.The company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $490.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.58.

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, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.