Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Takes Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 74,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,920,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of LPL Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,333,189,000. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,948,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,454,000 after acquiring an additional 619,715 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,666,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,103,079,000 after purchasing an additional 289,227 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,294,869,000 after buying an additional 996,806 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,163,000 after purchasing an additional 702,061 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total value of $352,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.5%

LPLA stock opened at $354.02 on Friday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $325.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.54. The firm has a market cap of $27.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 2.39 and a current ratio of 2.39.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $406.69.

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.