12,430 Shares in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Bought by Estate Counselors LLC

Estate Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 123.1% in the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 234.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LPLA. JMP Securities raised their target price on LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $383.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of LPLA opened at $355.30 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.41 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $374.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $355.77. The company has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.88 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

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.