M&T Bank Corp Raises Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in Q4, buying 1,136,952 shares to hold 1,141,019 shares (≈1.43% of LPL) valued at about $407.5 million, making LPL its 12th largest holding.
• LPL Financial posted a Q4 beat with EPS of $5.23 vs. $4.82 expected and revenue of $4.93 billion (up 8.4% YoY), alongside a 34.19% ROE and solid margins.
• Company insiders have sold 8,569 shares (~$2.72M) over the past three months (including sales by the CFO and a director), while analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $401.93.

M&T Bank Corp grew its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 27,955.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,136,952 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial accounts for 1.2% of M&T Bank Corp's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. M&T Bank Corp owned about 1.43% of LPL Financial worth $407,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,581 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.50, for a total value of $506,710.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,931. This represents a 6.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,838.15. This represents a 12.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.80 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $309.13 and its 200 day moving average is $342.38. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $281.51 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 2.45.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.25 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on LPL Financial from $435.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $401.93.

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.

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