M Holdings Securities Inc. Acquires New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $914,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 6.5% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 5,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 41,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,653,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $211,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 3.4%

LPL Financial stock opened at $305.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 2.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.92. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.15 and a 1-year high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $5.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.69 by $0.28. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.05% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $357.36, for a total transaction of $110,066.88. Following the sale, the director owned 6,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,397.52. This trade represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Katharine Reeping sold 440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.88, for a total transaction of $153,067.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $617,139.12. This represents a 19.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,867 shares of company stock valued at $1,726,944. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LPLA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $362.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of LPL Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $387.00 to $393.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.60.

LPL Financial Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc provides brokerage and investment advisory services through a network of independent financial professionals. The company supports financial advisors, registered investment advisers, banks and credit unions with services designed to help them serve individual and institutional clients.

Its offerings include investment and retirement planning platforms, brokerage and advisory account services, custody, financial technology, research, compliance support and practice-management resources.