LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Acquired by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 27.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 7.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 412,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,742,000 after buying an additional 28,196 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 23.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,006,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in LPL Financial by 6.7% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 19.4% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,893,000 after buying an additional 2,123 shares during the period. Finally, AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs increased its position in LPL Financial by 3.5% during the second quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 3,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 11.5%

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $377.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.83 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.74, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $339.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.98.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49 by $0.71. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 40.11% and a net margin of 5.35%.The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. The trade was a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg Gates sold 750 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.42, for a total value of $235,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,304,265.40. This trade represents a 4.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,333,105. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group set a $455.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday. Rothschild Redb lowered LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered LPL Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.50.

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.