Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,360,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,905,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,278,454,000 after buying an additional 805,637 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of LPL Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,946,000 after acquiring an additional 23,111 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,275,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $296,635,000 after acquiring an additional 276,166 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 57.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,115,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,290,000 after acquiring an additional 405,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,747,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

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LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPL Financial stock traded up $9.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $311.42. 789,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,656. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $187.19 and a 52-week high of $384.04. The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.16. The firm's 50 day moving average is $340.03 and its 200 day moving average is $319.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 49.41%. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. LPL Financial's payout ratio is 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,490,838.75. The trade was a 21.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 4,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.07, for a total value of $1,652,001.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,954,837.66. This represents a 21.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,465 shares of company stock valued at $12,562,070. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered LPL Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $369.83.

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.