Jennison Associates LLC Acquires 851,115 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 786.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 959,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 851,115 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $313,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 234.5% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 5.9%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $390.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $377.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $350.93. The firm has a market cap of $31.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.19 and a 52 week high of $390.83.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LPLA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup downgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $372.15.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total transaction of $573,945.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. This represents a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.