Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 3,230 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) by 50.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in LPL Financial were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 550.0% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 580.0% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $324.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $293.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 31.26% and a net margin of 4.93%.The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. LPL Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial’s payout ratio is 10.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $390.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.92.

LPL Financial Company 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.