Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Purchases New Stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC has acquired a new position in LPL Financial Holdings Inc., purchasing 888 shares valued at approximately $290,000.
• Several institutional investors have made significant changes to their stakes in LPL Financial, including a 1,453.3% increase in holdings by Principal Financial Group.
• LPL Financial recently reported earnings of $5.15 per share, exceeding expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.5%.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 888 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LPLA. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in LPL Financial by 234.5% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in LPL Financial by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.63, for a total value of $573,945.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,889,830.60. The trade was a 6.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. TD Cowen cut shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $406.00 to $403.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JMP Securities raised their target price 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 raised shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.83.

LPL Financial Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:LPLA traded down $1.15 on Thursday, reaching $397.85. The stock had a trading volume of 202,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,074. The company has a market cap of $31.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $377.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.89. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $187.19 and a 12-month high of $403.58.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.54 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.63 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 46.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.83 EPS. Equities analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About LPL Financial

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.