LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp drastically increased its stake in LPL Financial by 34,155.8% in Q1, acquiring a total of 47,273 shares valued at approximately $15.47 million.
• Several institutional investors boosted their positions in LPL Financial, with 95.66% of the stock owned by institutional players, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Despite recent upgrades from some analysts, the company's stock has recently seen a decline, and LPL Financial's average price target is currently $383.33.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 34,155.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 47,135 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned about 0.06% of LPL Financial worth $15,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $250,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in LPL Financial by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,755,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in LPL Financial by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,784,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its position in LPL Financial by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 1,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in LPL Financial by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,887 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LPLA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of LPL Financial in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $425.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of LPL Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $406.00 to $403.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $391.67.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total value of $561,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares in the company, valued at $7,151,836. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 80 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.25, for a total transaction of $28,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,582 shares in the company, valued at $2,016,497.50. This represents a 1.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,580 shares of company stock worth $1,671,235 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

LPL Financial Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of LPLA stock traded up $2.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $350.64. 589,143 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 770,953. The business's fifty day moving average is $367.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 3.22. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $205.50 and a 12-month high of $403.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.66.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.30. LPL Financial had a net margin of 7.91% and a return on equity of 39.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

LPL Financial Company 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.