MJP Associates Inc. ADV Acquires 77 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on LPLA shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $243.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $322.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.30.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Dan H. Arnold sold 5,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.31, for a total transaction of $1,574,288.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 142,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,546,624.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $196.23. 747,631 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,155. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $259.82. The company has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.90. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $289.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $0.22. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 52.14% and a net margin of 8.91%. The business had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 15.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.06%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.