Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $2.14 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its LPL Financial stake by 48.2% in the second quarter, selling 7,072 shares and retaining 7,604 shares valued at approximately $2.14 million.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with 12 Buy ratings and five Hold ratings. LPL Financial has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $405.79.
• LPL reported quarterly earnings of $5.84 per share, surpassing estimates of $5.39, while revenue rose 35.2% year over year to $5.19 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. reduced its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,072 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldstein Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC grew its position in LPL Financial by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 5,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,716,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on LPL Financial in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating and a $389.00 price target on the stock. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $405.79.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $359.33 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16. 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 market cap of $28.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $340.76 and a 200-day moving average of $315.54.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.06 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is 9.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total value of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. The trade was a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total value of $110,066.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,182,397.52. This trade represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,735 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,845 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About LPL Financial

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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