Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes $31,000 Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LPLA. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,765,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,434,000 after acquiring an additional 738,509 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 9.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $723,329,000 after purchasing an additional 233,242 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in LPL Financial by 31.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,227,000 after buying an additional 183,755 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 52.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 477,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $133,285,000 after buying an additional 164,586 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 927,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $245,011,000 after acquiring an additional 153,072 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $326.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.92.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $314.54 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $250.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $251.18. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $187.19 and a one year high of $322.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.55 billion, a PE ratio of 23.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.85.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 9.02%.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.