M&T Bank Corp Raises Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 27,955.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,136,952 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 1.2% of M&T Bank Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $407,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,762,581,000 after buying an additional 317,002 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,328,475,000 after buying an additional 477,094 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 23.2% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,329,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,107,610,000 after buying an additional 627,546 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 15,960.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,628,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $874,493,000 after buying an additional 2,612,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,453,000 after buying an additional 383,466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $325.80 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $281.51 and a one year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $309.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.38.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 34.19% and a net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LPLA. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $478.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 1,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.72, for a total transaction of $336,975.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,768. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total value of $675,196.35. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.