Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys Shares of 2,164 LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $708,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LPLA. Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 63.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 95.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LPL Financial Price Performance

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $6.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $360.95. 740,403 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 839,980. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.19 and a twelve month high of $390.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 2.31. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $358.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.73. The firm has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 46.34% and a net margin of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.83 earnings per share. LPL Financial's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on LPL Financial from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup lowered LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 9th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.69.

LPL Financial 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.