Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,377,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 280,202 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $1,206,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.4%

LPLA stock opened at $304.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $302.25 and its 200 day moving average is $328.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, LPL Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial Company 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.