Man Group plc Makes New $9.90 Million Investment in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,902,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 2.6%

LPL Financial stock opened at $370.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $333.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16. The stock has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

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.