Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 3,230 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 50.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $371,616,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after purchasing an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $324.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $293.42 and a 200-day moving average of $317.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Barclays lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.92.

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.