FORA Capital LLC Invests $1.73 Million in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has acquired 5,283 shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. valued at approximately $1.73 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the firm.
• Multiple brokerages have recently adjusted their price targets for LPL Financial, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $490.00 and Citigroup downgrading it to a $80.00 price objective.
• LPL Financial's stock is currently trading at $367.30, having reported a significant 30.8% year-over-year revenue increase and earnings per share of $4.51, surpassing analyst expectations.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,728,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LPLA. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 4.9% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC grew its stake in LPL Financial by 123.1% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 87 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPLA has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen cut LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Citigroup downgraded LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.58.

LPL Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of LPLA stock traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $364.48. 249,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 670,501. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $204.41 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The stock has a market cap of $29.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $371.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.47.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.88 EPS. LPL Financial's revenue was up 30.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

LPL Financial Company 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.