Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 3,280 Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder increased its LPL Financial stake by 14.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 3,280 shares and bringing its total holdings to 25,861 shares valued at $7.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.66% of the company.
• LPL Financial reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $5.84 versus the $5.39 consensus estimate and revenue of $5.19 billion, up 35.2% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $406.69, compared with the stock’s recent price of $370.67. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Egerton Capital UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter worth $91,012,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 77,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,204,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 559,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $199,998,000 after buying an additional 6,630 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth $371,616,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 158,783 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,713,000 after buying an additional 57,362 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Matthew Enyedi sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.72, for a total transaction of $352,720.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,628,039.12. This represents a 7.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,962,990. This 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. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LPLA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $454.00 price objective on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $365.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $406.69.

LPL Financial Stock Down 1.1%

LPLA opened at $370.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $260.15 and a 52 week high of $400.16.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $5.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 32.20% and a net margin of 5.13%.The business's revenue was up 35.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.51 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 24.09 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid 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 yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

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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