Azora Capital LP Acquires 26,249 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Azora Capital LP has increased its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by 6.3%, acquiring an additional 26,249 shares, making LPL Financial its biggest holding at approximately $144.7 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Janus Henderson Group, have boosted their stakes in LPL Financial, resulting in institutional ownership of 95.66%.
• Analysts have upgraded their price targets for LPL Financial, with estimates now ranging from $420 to $463, while the average target price sits at $383.58.

Azora Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,249 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial makes up approximately 9.8% of Azora Capital LP's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Azora Capital LP owned 0.56% of LPL Financial worth $144,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,372,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,956,000 after acquiring an additional 154,200 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,050,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $996,032,000 after purchasing an additional 522,032 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 0.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 20,881 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 224.1% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,523,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053,351 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 35.9% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,516,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $495,964,000 after purchasing an additional 400,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $364.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $204.41 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $372.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

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.

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