Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,303,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 317,002 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of LPL Financial worth $2,762,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 209,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,414,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 12.2% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at about $121,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $444.00 to $434.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $421.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on LPL Financial from $462.00 to $447.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $426.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.71.

LPL Financial Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $332.18 on Thursday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.83 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $365.25 and a 200 day moving average of $356.10.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $5.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.41. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 35.99% and a net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $4.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.90%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, CEO Richard Steinmeier sold 5,058 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.99, for a total value of $1,876,467.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,459,852.74. The trade was a 35.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.48, for a total transaction of $28,198.40. Following the sale, the director owned 5,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,939,344.96. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,888 shares of company stock valued at $2,182,893 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.