JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $427.66 Million Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in LPL Financial by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, owning 1,197,366 shares valued at about $427.7 million.
• LPL Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $5.60 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average target price of $398.86.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,197,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 258,611 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.50% of LPL Financial worth $427,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LPLA opened at $289.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $302.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $330.38. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.50. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $403.58.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. LPL Financial's payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LPLA has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $396.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on LPL Financial from $464.00 to $383.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $398.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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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