Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC increased its LPL Financial stake by 21.1% in the first quarter, owning 135,221 shares worth about $40.7 million after adding 23,554 shares.
• Institutional interest in LPL Financial remains high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 95.66% of the stock. Several large firms also boosted positions, including Capital World Investors and Principal Financial Group.
• LPL Financial reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $5.60 versus $5.49 expected and 34.6% revenue growth year over year. Analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a price target of $397.92.

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 23,554 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.17% of LPL Financial worth $40,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $450,493,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 27,955.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,141,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $407,538,000 after buying an additional 1,136,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $371,616,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in LPL Financial by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,625,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,294,869,000 after buying an additional 996,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in LPL Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,636,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $793,163,000 after buying an additional 702,061 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $374.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $412.00 to $394.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.92.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LPLA opened at $327.96 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $294.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.15 and a twelve month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 23.38 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other LPL Financial news, 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 transaction of $94,248.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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