LPL Financial Holdings Inc. $LPLA Stake Raised by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its stake in LPL Financial by 51.4% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 22,440 shares worth about $6.75 million.
• LPL Financial recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $5.60 EPS versus the $5.49 consensus, while revenue rose 34.6% year over year to $4.94 billion.
• Wall Street remains mostly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $398.86, though some analysts have trimmed targets and kept hold ratings.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 51.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,620 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $6,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 3,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 75 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of LPL Financial by 550.0% in the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 78 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in LPL Financial by 580.0% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LPLA. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $330.00 to $326.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods assumed coverage on LPL Financial in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on LPL Financial from $380.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on LPL Financial from $447.00 to $374.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of LPL Financial in a report on Monday, April 27th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, LPL Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $398.86.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock opened at $295.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $294.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $321.48. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.15 and a 12 month high of $403.58. The company has a market capitalization of $23.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.49 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 31.26%. LPL Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 22.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.71%.

Insider Activity at LPL Financial

In related news, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 1,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,188.03. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 308 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $94,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,962,990. This trade represents a 4.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,887 shares of company stock valued at $613,144. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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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