B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases New Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired 46,399 LPL Financial shares worth approximately $13.1 million, while institutional investors collectively own 95.66% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 12 Buy ratings and four Holds; LPL has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $406.69.
• LPL exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.84 in EPS and $5.19 billion in revenue, up 35.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 46,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,070,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG owned about 0.06% of LPL Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,333,189,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $450,493,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $371,616,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in LPL Financial by 37.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,294,869,000 after purchasing an additional 996,806 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in LPL Financial by 4,435.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 747,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,439,000 after buying an additional 730,613 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LPLA shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group cut their price target on LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $454.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $394.00 to $401.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $406.69.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $354.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $325.27 and a 200 day moving average of $315.54. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.51 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About LPL Financial

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.

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