The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company initiated a 5,055-share LPL Financial position worth approximately $1.42 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 95.66% of the company.
• LPL Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $5.84 versus the $5.39 consensus and revenue of $5.19 billion, up 35.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 12 Buy ratings and five Holds and a consensus price target of $405.79; meanwhile, insiders sold 5,735 shares worth about $2.02 million over the past 90 days.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $68,414,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the first quarter valued at about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,426,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,735 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,845. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock opened at $360.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.23. The stock has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.02 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LPLA. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $372.00 to $377.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $405.79.

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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