LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its stake in LPL Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 126,025 shares valued at about $45.0 million.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including Director Marc Eliot Cohen and CFO Matthew J. Audette; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,879 shares worth about $1.54 million.
• Analysts remain bullish on LPLA, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $398.86, while the company also reported Q1 EPS above estimates and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share.

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,038 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of LPL Financial worth $45,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 4.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in LPL Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other news, Director Marc Eliot Cohen sold 2,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.75, for a total value of $682,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,420. This represents a 28.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.01, for a total transaction of $366,311.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 19,803 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,538,826. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on LPLA shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $369.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, LPL Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LPL Financial stock opened at $273.77 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.90. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $260.15 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.50.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.49 by $0.11. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.71%.

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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