Jupiter Topco LLC Takes $1.18 Billion Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,198,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,182,595,000. Jupiter Topco LLC owned 5.33% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 7.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,179 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its position in LPL Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $199,998,000 after purchasing an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $371,616,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings 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 worth $56,713,000 after acquiring an additional 57,362 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $361.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $329.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.09. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16. The company has a market capitalization of $28.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 0.61 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 (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.57%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,602 shares in the company, valued at $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, 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 report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

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.