Diversified Trust Co Takes Position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Diversified Trust Co initiated a new position in LPL Financial, buying 9,098 shares worth about $2.74 million in the first quarter.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $5.60 EPS versus the $5.49 estimate, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $398.86, even as insiders and some firms made mixed moves in recent months.

Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,098 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,737,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,948,970 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,410,454,000 after purchasing an additional 619,715 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,719,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,328,475,000 after purchasing an additional 477,094 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,294,869,000 after purchasing an additional 996,806 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,377,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,206,371,000 after purchasing an additional 280,202 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its position in shares of LPL Financial by 20.5% in the third quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,255,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $750,453,000 after purchasing an additional 383,466 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

LPLA opened at $293.95 on Monday. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.15 and a fifty-two week high of $403.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $23.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $301.84 and a 200-day moving average of $327.63.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. LPL Financial's revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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