Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $14.17 Million Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,190 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $14,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $295,982,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after purchasing an additional 805,637 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in LPL Financial by 24.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $772,930,000 after purchasing an additional 650,675 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in LPL Financial by 27.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,635,000 after buying an additional 276,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,145,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total value of $10,507,633.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,663 shares in the company, valued at $4,988,907.82. The trade was a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.85, for a total transaction of $402,435.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. This represents a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,465 shares of company stock worth $12,562,070 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $310.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised their target price on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $336.89 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $187.19 and a 1-year high of $384.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $351.92 and a 200-day moving average of $311.11.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.55%.

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.