National Bank of Canada FI Has $7.68 Million Stock Holdings in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in LPL Financial Holdings Inc. by an impressive 1,506.0% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 23,479 shares valued at approximately $7.68 million.
• Several other hedge funds also significantly increased their holdings in LPL Financial, with 95.66% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• LPL Financial recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with $4.51 earnings per share, surpassing expectations and indicating robust 30.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA - Free Report) by 1,506.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,017 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in LPL Financial were worth $7,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LPLA. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in LPL Financial by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,886 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $436,000. Mariner LLC boosted its position in LPL Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,117,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in LPL Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,205,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,955,000. Institutional investors own 95.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $420.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $420.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $402.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of LPL Financial from $460.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $490.00 price target (up from $450.00) on shares of LPL Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $383.58.

Insider Activity

In other LPL Financial news, Director Greg Gates sold 1,500 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.05, for a total transaction of $561,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,151,836. This trade represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

LPL Financial Stock Performance

LPLA stock traded down $4.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $350.98. The stock had a trading volume of 506,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,077. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.66. LPL Financial Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $204.41 and a 52 week high of $403.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $355.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. LPL Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.21%.

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.