Bank of America Corp DE Raises Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its LPL Financial stake by 0.9% in the first quarter, owning 803,428 shares worth approximately $241.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 95.66% of LPLA’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 11 Buy ratings and four Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $408.54. Recent targets range from $383 to $391, while BMO raised its target to $390.
• LPL Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.84 in adjusted earnings per share versus $5.39 expected and $5.19 billion in revenue, up 35.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equal to a 0.3% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 803,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,257 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.00% of LPL Financial worth $241,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 27,955.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $407,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $371,616,000. Capital World Investors boosted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $793,163,000 after buying an additional 702,061 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $408.54.

LPL Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LPLA opened at $360.35 on Tuesday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $260.15 and a one year high of $400.16. The stock has a market cap of $28.82 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $303.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.90.

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. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.80% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.51 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate 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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