First Horizon Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 32.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,589,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,329,000 after buying an additional 233,242 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 71.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 8.0% in the second quarter. Samlyn Capital LLC now owns 1,194,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,684,000 after acquiring an additional 88,635 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 884,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,077,000 after acquiring an additional 90,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darlington Partners Capital Management LP increased its position in LPL Financial by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 783,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,773,000 after purchasing an additional 68,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $326.85 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $263.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $252.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.85. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $327.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.47% and a net margin of 8.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.74 EPS. Analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.30 dividend. 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 0.37%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of LPL Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on LPL Financial from $309.00 to $282.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $273.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.92.

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.