KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $10.97 Million Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $10,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $1,636,000. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 12.2% during the 1st 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 bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This trade represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 2,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $320.15, for a total transaction of $675,196.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,121 shares in the company, valued at $4,520,838.15. This trade represents a 12.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,569 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,733. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $433.00 to $439.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $406.00 to $380.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.93.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $321.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $281.51 and a 1 year high of $403.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $308.74 and its 200-day moving average is $342.13.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.