Citigroup Inc. Buys 17,720 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings by 61.2%, owning a total of 46,653 shares worth approximately $15.26 million after acquiring an additional 17,720 shares.
• LPL Financial reported $4.51 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with a 30.8% year-over-year revenue increase to $3.84 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 8.21%.

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 61.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,720 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $15,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 58,251 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,056,000 after purchasing an additional 3,620 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 5.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 354,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,808,000 after acquiring an additional 18,252 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth $697,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in LPL Financial by 2.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the first quarter worth $831,000. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LPLA shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.58.

LPL Financial Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of LPL Financial stock traded down $4.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $350.98. 506,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,077. The company has a quick ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $375.53 and its 200 day moving average is $355.93. The firm has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $204.41 and a 1 year high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

LPL Financial Profile

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.