Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Acquires 96,704 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 348,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 96,704 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.43% of LPL Financial worth $104,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in LPL Financial by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 2,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 9.3% during the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the first quarter valued at $2,538,000. Ocean Park Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $21,519,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in LPL Financial by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,052 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total transaction of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,887 shares of company stock worth $613,144. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of LPLA stock opened at $269.03 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $325.09. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $260.15 and a 52-week high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 2.56.

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

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LPLA. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.86.

LPL Financial Company 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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