Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 3,280 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 14.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,948,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,410,454,000 after purchasing an additional 619,715 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,103,079,000 after buying an additional 289,227 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after buying an additional 996,806 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,163,000 after buying an additional 702,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in LPL Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,843,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,313,000 after buying an additional 14,680 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $370.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $319.20 and a 200 day moving average of $315.91. The stock has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.45. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $406.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This trade represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,990. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About LPL Financial

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.