EFG International AG Acquires New Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

EFG International AG bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,985,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinpoint Asset Management Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of LPLA opened at $361.88 on Wednesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.15 and a 1 year high of $400.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.39 and a quick ratio of 2.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $329.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.09. The firm has a market cap of $28.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.48.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. Barclays lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $408.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $454.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $406.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 4,119 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.38, for a total transaction of $1,463,810.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,387,678.76. This trade represents a 14.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,427 shares of company stock worth $1,910,778 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

LPL Financial 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.