Railway Pension Investments Ltd Increases Stock Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 26.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 96,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $36,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 8.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,986,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,994,798,000 after purchasing an additional 613,909 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,679,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,379,598,000 after buying an additional 165,201 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,681,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,264,000 after buying an additional 20,881 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 61.1% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,442,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,745,000 after acquiring an additional 926,122 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in LPL Financial by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,730,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $631,664,000 after purchasing an additional 95,423 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $338.21, for a total transaction of $507,315.00. Following the sale, the director owned 17,620 shares in the company, valued at $5,959,260.20. This represents a 7.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total value of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This trade represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,830 shares of company stock worth $1,336,675. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.7%

LPLA stock opened at $356.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $345.02 and a 200 day moving average of $361.46. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $262.83 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The firm has a market cap of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 36.80% and a net margin of 5.35%.LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 46.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.16 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 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 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. JMP Securities set a $475.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild Redb downgraded LPL Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on LPL Financial from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group set a $455.00 price target on LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.00.

About LPL Financial

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.